The Lion King: The Human Pridelander
by LionKingIsAwesome
Summary: After a plane crash takes everything from him, 18 year old Drew King is forced to find help to survive! In an unexpected turn, he runs into Mufasa's Pride in the Pridelands! As strange as these talking lions seem, what if he ends up befriending the pride? Meanwhile, Mufasa's brother Scar tries to take what is rightfully 'his'. But how can he with this human always in the way?
1. Chapter 1: Twist Of Fate

**Update: Well.. Hi, there. XD It's me, LionKingIsAwesome! Some of you may remember me and this story, 'The Human Pridelander'. To those who _don't_, however, allow me to recap: So essentially, I started this series of this OC named 'Drew' who survives a plane crash, and ends up in the Pride Lands. Pretty simplistic, eh? Well, on top of that, it went through the events of the first movie, though obviously with altered events due to this human's presence. It unfortunately got deleted a couple years ago, but _luckily_, I think the original chapters of this story have been found! **

**It will feel good to get back into the Lion King fandom one way or another, and well, I hope you guys enjoy the ride! Without further ado, here's chapter 1! **

_**Original author's note just**_** _below:_**

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**Hello all! Welcome to my new story! It's been a while since I've done anything Lion King related, despite my username having 'Lion King' in it. Loi. It's actually my first try at a solo Lion King story as a matter a fact, as well as a first-person perspective story. I'm doing a 'human in Lion King' story, because there aren't even very many of these; which is sad because most of them are really good! There are three things that inspired me to write this type of story. The first is 'Light in the Night' by Jackimax, second is 'The Lion King: Of Lions and Man' by Hunter1231, and lastly is SimbaFan's 'Pride Trilogy' as I call it. I highly recommend all of these stories, and suggest you read them if you want to. Please make sure to favorite, follow, and/or review if you would want to! On with the story! (Minor cursing.) **

Chapter 1: Twist Of Fate

Fate can do one of two things. It can either make your life a paradise beyond your wildest dreams, or can ruin it in the blink of an eye. I've had some ups and downs in my life, but nothing can compare to what I've experienced these past years. My name is Andrew King. I'm about 6' 2" and 185 pounds. I have a simple haircut which is a dirty blonde color and sky blue eyes. I was 18 years old when this all started, and well, here's my story.

I remembered my life flashing before my eyes! Parts of my body seem to hurt as well. My mom, dad. and I were on a plane heading to Africa and-oh God! Please no! I slowly open my eyes only to see blurry vision. Once it finally clears up, I gasp in horror at what I see. I see several dead passengers, not a single one still alive. There were even a couple of small flames that I can see as well. I close my eyes again when I remember my parents.

'_Please still be alive!'_ I thought. I open my eyes and turn my head to where my parents were seated, only to see two corpses in their seats.

"No.." I whisper to myself with utmost sorrow. I feel sadness start to be replaced with anger. I shoot up out of my seat and say,

"NO! AGHHH!" I let out a yelp of pain and immediately crashed to the floor. My right leg had a very sharp pain in it, and from what I could see, looked mis-shapened. I start to breathe heavily due to what all was going on.

'_My leg is broken!'_ I thought. I start to shed some tears now as reality begins to set in. '_My mom, my dad, they're-'_ I sniffle as more tears begin to come down my face. '_-they're dead..'_ After several more minutes of despair, something else now came to my mind.

"I have to go get help! I'll surely die if I stay here much longer. Perhaps there's a civilization nearby."

I used the seats to get onto my one foot so that I can get to where I need to faster. I now began to feel dizzy, which I thought was dehydration.

'_Not good! I need help, and fast!'_ I grab my backpack that I brought along with me and start to hop out of the plane. On my way out, I turn to face my mom and dad for the last time.

"Goodbye Mom, goodbye Dad.. I love you more than you ever know." I started my way out of here now before I start to cry some more. Double checking for survivors on the way out, I find none unfortunately. I hop out and begin to look around. And what do I see? African wilderness that looked like it could stretch for miles!

"Well shit.. That's just fan-freakin'tastic!" Looks like I have some walking to do.. This is one hell of a way to start a birthday huh? Oh, did I not mention that? Yeah, it's my _birthday_! My parents and I were going to Africa for a safari. It was their birthday present from them to me.. Oh boy, how things can change just like that!

Instead of a safari, I got: injuries from a plane crash, the most major being a broken leg that I know of so far, my parents and fellow passengers killed in the crash, and now I'm stranded out in the savanna in the middle of fucking _nowhere_! The bright side of this whole thing is: I'm alive! Now how does _that_ work? I'm the only survivor in that whole crash, only escaping with one major injury? Looks like God has truly blessed me in that aspect.. However, that's the only positive in this sea of negatives. If I don't find help soon, I may just end up dead!

That's just what I did. I hopped on my one foot for several hours, taking breaks when necessary. However, that's when the sun really started to get to me.

'_Man! What I would do just to have some water right now.'_ Sadly my water bottle was completely empty, as I drank it all on the way. The rest of the water was in my mom's bag. I groan in anger at my ignorance. '_How could I forget to get that from the plane!?' _

Through my thinking, I accidentally hopped on a large rock sticking out of the ground. This causes me to lose my balance and fall to the ground. I groaned in pain and begin to sit back up. All of a sudden, I hear something in the nearby bushes…

Not taking any chances of being a predator's dinner, I zip open my bag and pray to _God_ that it's still here..

"Yes!" I pull out my 5 inch hunting knife that I commonly used on deer hunting trips with my dad. Man am I glad that I decided to bring _this_ along! Take _that_ airport security!

The noises got closer, causing me to stand on my one foot once more, ready for whatever emerges. Something finally _did_ emerge, a hyena! It looked very vicious, but also curious at the same time.

"Just what the heck are _you_ supposed to be?" The hyena laughed.

I widen my eyes at this. '_Did that hyena just freakin' TALK to me!? No, no that can't be! Just the dehydration, that's all.' _I thought.

"I dunno Mabaya. Looks like a hairless baboon to me!" another hyena says as it emerges with three more.

I gasp at this now. Either the dehydration is _really_ starting to get to my head, or they're _actually_ talking to me! Real or not, as stupid as this may sound, I reply.

"H-How in the hell are you talking to me?" The hyenas look at one another confused.

"Did you hit your head or something? Or are you _actually_ this stupid?" The hyenas laugh at their leader's joke. "It's simple. I move my lips, sounds come from my throat, and therefore I create words!"

I shake my head in disbelief.

"Unbelievable." I mutter.

"So-" The hyena leader says, getting my attention. "I'll ask again, _what_ are you?"

I clear my dry throat and respond,

''I'm a human."

The other four hyenas gasp and widen their eyes in shock and fear.

"HUMAN?!" They exclaim.

The fifth hyena, the leader of the group, has his eyes widened as well, but masks his fear unlike the others. He shakes his head slightly and says,

"Human or not, you're gonna be our dinner tonight! Get him boys!" The hyenas hesitantly charge at me, and I raise my hunting knife up in a defensive stance.

One hyena lunges at me, and I swipe my knife across his face, causing him to yelp in pain and fall to the ground, wounded. Another one just barely misses me, as I jump out of the way in time. When he turns back around, I bring my knife down in between his eyes, killing it. This costs me _big_ time however, due to the fact that my knife got stuck inside the hyena's head for a bit.

As soon as I get it out, a hyena pounces on me and sends me falling to the ground. This hurts my broken leg quite a lot, as I hiss in pain from it. The hyena begins to bite my shoulder because I try and shield his bites from reaching my face. The other hyena and the one that I wounded began to bite me as well. Through my screams of pain, I look over at the leader, seeing him smirking evilly at me.

"Alright. Get off of him." The hyenas comply and the leader known as Mabaya stands over me. He chuckles and says,

"Shame.. I really would've thought the '_big'_, '_bad_' human would've put up more of a fight. Hell, I thought you were gonna _win_ quite honestly." He stays silent for a couple of seconds before continuing. "Hmph.. Guess I was wrong!"

He chomps down on my shoulder wound out of _nowhere_, causing me to scream in pain. He laughs at my misery and says,

"Well, I've had enough fun. Goodbye _human_! It's been nice knowing ya." I close my eyes waiting for my inevitable death, before I hear something else that shocked me beyond belief.

It was multiple _lions_' roars!

"No fuckin' way…" I muttered aloud.

My dizziness finally gets the better of me, as I finally start to black out. The last thing I see are some lionesses charging at the hyenas, apparently fighting them off.

My whole world finally goes black, my next expectations being death…

**I know this was short and started out kind of slow, but believe me, things will get much more intense as the story goes on. My OC will be introduced to some of the characters you all know and love next chapter. This will take place before the first movie, and even before Simba and Nala are born. Until then, thank you for reading. Constructive criticism is appreciated. Please review and look out for the next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2: Unexpected Rescuers

**A/N: Hey, guys! Welcome to the next update of The Human Pridelander! I'd like to thank each one of you for the response I got last chapter! I'm really glad you liked it, but please, also feel free to give some constructive criticism if need be. It's always welcome if you have a critical opinion. **

**And I already sense some critiques coming a **_**mile **_**away for this particular chapter, and for good reason. Why? Well, you'll have to read and find out. Keep in mind, these are all the **_**original **_**chapters of the story, so nothing will be changed from the original text and meaning of the story. So for that reason, you may be asking: 'So why bother with constructive criticism?'. Well, that's because after this story is back up, I'll begin the sequel to it, and will utilize those critiques well moving forward! :) **

**Man.. Sorry for rambling, but I just had to get this explanation out there! XD As was my tradition, I'll respond to the reviews of the previous chapter, then this current chapter shall commence! **

**Jason Chandler: Guess you'll find out! ;)**

**Jestalnaker94000: Glad to hear it, man! It's certainly good hearing from you again, as well! **

**Marcus Graves (Guest): Heh heh.. Yeah. XD Sorry about that, my friend. This story getting deleted was definitely a bad time, but luckily the previous chapters have been found and will slowly be released as they were before! Thanks for reading, as well as remembering. :)**

**dragonbond007: No OC's will be accepted for this story because.. well.. it was already written. XD However, as for the sequel? I'm all ears! Also yes, Ikkane will certainly be returning! **

**Daniel's the Man (Guest): Thanks! Will do.**

**LycanJedi: Ahahahaha! :D Nah but seriously, thanks bro. Glad to hear from you! **

**GeminiSparkSX: Thanks, my friend! And ikr!? So crazy to think that.. Haha. **

**TheBlindSangheili: You're too kind.. :) Well, hope no further! It's here once again, and this time for good! I sincerely hope you love your favorite fic as much as you did the first time. **

**ItsBurgerTime: Good to hear! Hope you'll enjoy this next installment! **

**AutobotGuy710: Thank you! Allow me to purge your curiosity with another chapter. XD**

**matthorserider40: I appreciate it! And yes, everything is going well. :) **

**silver . rabbit68: That it is lol.**

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Chapter 2: Unexpected Rescuers

My shoulder hurt like crazy! It was burning and the pain really started to take a toll on me. As for my broken leg, it didn't really fare much better. And my head..

Holy _shit_ my head!

My head was throbbing and, putting it lightly, I feel like I got hit by a semi-truck! But wait! I'm still alive? How can that be? I should be lion fettuccine right now! Not that I'm complaining of course, but where am I? I slowly open my eyes, only to see pitch black!

'_Oh shit! Am I blind!?'_ I thought. I quickly sit up and look around in a panic, eventually seeing the moon shining brightly outside. I start to faintly chuckle to myself. '_Way to rush to conclusions Drew! Ya moron!'_

I now take in my surroundings. I see an exit which looks exactly like the ones in caves. I look around and see no other exits.

'_I appear to be in some sort of cave. But how did I get here?' _My vision finally starts to adjust a bit more and I hear some faint snores. As soon as I look down to see what was snoring, my whole face went pale..

It was a whole pride of lionesses! One exception being a really large golden brown lion with a red mane.

'_Oh ... my .. GOD! Lions! They're freakin' everywhere! I have to get outta here, but I gotta make it quiet.'_ I grab my nearby backpack and hunting knife, which just so happened to be right beside one another, and I slowly but surely get onto my one foot.

It's right now that I hear something rustle on my leg and shoulder. I look at them and see some leaves which appear to be stuck on. I attempt to pry them off, but realize that escaping is the better option right now.

I hop as quiet as gravity will allow me to, and I appear to be doing quite exceptional! I see the exit right in front of me and feel the cool breeze blow in my face. Just as it looks like I'm about to exit, a lioness's tail accidentally trips me, sending me crashing to the ground.

I squint my eyes in pain and try my damnedest not to scream, tears watering up in my eyes due to the pain. Unfortunately, me crashing to the ground was loud enough that every single lion in the cave opened their eyes simultaneously, every single one glowing in the darkness. I shudder in fear at what's gonna happen to me. All of a sudden, the only male lion in the cave yawns slightly and gets up, beginning to walk towards me.

'_Oh shit, oh shit. Oh fuck, oh fuck!'_ I think in absolute fear. Apparently the adrenaline in my body was so strong, it caused me to shoot up onto my good leg and hop like crazy.

I go straight once I exit the cave, hoping to find a hiding place soon. Unfortunately, I see the one thing I don't wanna see at this moment: a dead end! It was a long fall down there, but there was now a predator after me!

I frantically look behind me, and see the male lion standing right in front of my face, as well as his whole pride standing behind him. I just freakin' lost it here. I had to scream.

"AHHH!" I scream at the top of my lungs. The lion and the rest of his pride cover their ears at the loud noise, meanwhile my scream made me lose balance, sending me tumbling backwards off the cliff. I manage to grab the edge with both my hands, but a surge of pain goes through my shoulder.

I keep from screaming this time by gritting my teeth. The male lion walks over to edge with almost a look of... _concern_ on his face.

What!?

The lion frantically reaches his paw out at me.

"Quick! Grab my paw!" The male lion ordered.

What was he gonna do once he got me up there? Eat me? Is he afraid of his dinner splatting all over the ground? However, his look of concern _did_ look genuine. But what really sold it for me was the rest of his pride showing the same amount of concern he did. If I was gonna die either way anyways, I might as well take the risk of these lions being genuine..

I finally give in and grab his paw just as my shoulder couldn't take it anymore. The male lion grunted as he pulled me up, careful not to hurt me. He now got me to the top, sitting me down on the ground. I lay there at the edge of this cliff, panting heavily from that near-death experience.

"What happened? Why did you attempt to flee?" The male lion asked in a deep, booming voice. I could tell he didn't want any B.S, so I answered his questions to the best of my ability.

"I- I'm sorry.. I just thought that you and your pride would... y'know, _eat_ me if I stayed any longer." The male lion and his pride laughed simultaneously at my answer. Before I could ask why they were laughing, the lion started to speak again.

"Don't you worry about that. We're not gonna eat you."

"Y-You're not!?" I asked with slight surprise.

"Of course not." The lion said with a kind looking smile.

Wow.. Perhaps I misjudged these lions after all.. I mean, I _did_ see some lionesses fight those hyenas before I blacked out..

"My mate, Sarabi, and her hunting party found you being attacked by hyenas. We brought you to Rafiki's tree to heal your wounds, and we brought you back to Pride Rock."

I take a few seconds to absorb this information and I start to respond to what the lion said.

"Thank you all. I really appreciate it. _Really_ I do. But if you don't mind, could I maybe ask a question?"

"We're all ears." The lion said.

"Okay. Well, who are you? Where am I?"

The lion responded almost immediately with another kind smile.

"I am Mufasa, King of the Pridelands. That is where you are."

I widen my mouth in surprise. Then it hits me: Lions are known as 'king of the jungle'. Wow. They sure as hell weren't kidding. This lion is literally a king! I stand back up on my one foot and bow down respectfully.

"Wow I'm sorry! I didn't know you were a king! King Mufasa, uh, sir." Mufasa laughed and replied,

"Please. Just Mufasa will do just fine. And you don't have to bow either." I rise up from my bow and I'm asked more questions from Mufasa.

"So now you know my name. What's yours? And what species are you? I don't think any of us have seen anything like you before. Though you _do_ kind of resemble a baboon." I clear my still dry throat and reply,

"I am a human. That is my species. We differ from baboons because they have fur, and we do not."

The pride muttered various things that I couldn't hear, but I would assume it was about what I just said. The king even widened his eyes in shock. Have there been humans around here before? Surely not. He said none of them have seen anything like me before. But back on topic.

"As for your other question," I continued. "my name is Andrew King. But I prefer Drew for short." The pride gasped aloud and had shocked faces. Mufasa too had a stunned face.

"What?" I asked curiously, also with some slight concern..

"You're a king!?" Mufasa asked. I looked confused but answered his question anyway.

"What? _No_."

"But you called yourself, 'Andrew King'. So, you're _not_ a king?" I now know what he's talking about, and remember that lions don't have last names.

Hell, I didn't know they had first names!

"Humans generally have two names. Sometimes three or four." The pride muttered to one another in awe.

"Why not just have one?" Mufasa asked. I rub the back of my head, thinking of an answer.

"It's-It's complicated.. It's basically so we don't confuse one another." Mufasa seemed to take that answer and questioned,

"So do you prefer 'Andrew', 'Drew', or 'King'?" I smirked and thought to myself,

'Wow, I could be called 'King'? That'd be freakin' sweet! Nah.. I'd better just stick to my real name.'

"I always go by 'Drew'." I said to Mufasa. Mufasa smiled and said,

"'Drew' it is then. So Drew, what brings you to my Pridelands?" I sighed and replied,

"It's- It's quite a tragic tale.."

"Well, if you don't feel like telling it right now-"

"No, no. It's fine, Mufasa." I took a deep breath and mentally prepared myself to give as detailed an explanation as possible, all while keeping my emotions in check.. "Well, here goes."

I explained my whole story of how the plane crashed, what a plane _was_, and how I trekked across the African wilderness for _hours_. I finished the tale with tears in my eyes.

"-and so in conclusion, my parents are _gone _and I have _nowhere_ else to go. I have no one else to go _to_! I'm completely _alone_ in this world!" I now start to cry aloud, though I try and hide it from the king and his pride.

'_Dammit Drew! Stop being such a pussy! Stop it! Stop it!'_ I thought to myself. This only caused me try cry harder and louder than before. I look over at Mufasa and the pride through tears and see pity and concern evident in their expressions, as well as kindness.

"I-I'm sorry.." I say. I cry some more, but this time, I feel something wrap around me. I look and see Mufasa's arm around me, his paw on my back. I looked into his eyes and saw an absolute kind person, someone I can rely on. A lioness, who I earlier learned to be Mufasa's mate Sarabi stepped up to me as well. She nuzzled me and said,

"It's okay. Just let it all out." And I did. For what I thought to be a full hour, I sat there crying about my loss. And you know what? It felt _good_. Real good. I feel like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders; well, except the one that was bitten by hyenas. It still hurts like a _bitch_! Once I was done, Mufasa asked me,

"Drew, would you mind if Sarabi and I talked for just a moment?" I nodded and they walked away from me, talking about who knows what.. Upon seeing something approaching me from the corner of my eye, I look over and see a lioness with brown fur with a cream white underbelly.

"Are you okay?" She asked. I sniffled and wiped my eyes, replying,

"Yeah. I'm fine.. What's your name?" She smiled slightly and said,

"My name is Nzuri. And you're... 'Drew', was it?"

"Yeah."

"It's nice to meet you Drew." Nzuri said.

"Likewise." I said back. Nzuri looked like she was going to carry on the conversation, but she saw Mufasa and Sarabi walking back over here.

"Whoops. The King and Queen are almost here. I guess I'll see you later, Drew."

"Alright. See you later, Nzuri." Nzuri walked off just as Mufasa and Sarabi made it back to me.

'_She seemed nice..' _I genuinely thought.

Mufasa smiled at Sarabi and Sarabi did the same back.

Mufasa now spoke,

"Sarabi and I have been talking, and we were wanting to ask you something. Keep in mind that you are more than welcome to say 'no', and we would totally understand.." I nodded and asked,

"Okay. What is it?"

"Drew, how would you like to join our pride?" My jaw dropped down to the floor. Okay, not really but you get the point. This was a _lot_ to take in at once. Me? Join a _lion's_ pride!?

"I- I don't know what to say."

"You say you have nowhere else to go, so it's the least we could do.." I thought this over for a few seconds and made my decision.

"I- I'd love that."

"Great." Mufasa said with a smile. "However, there's one more question that's probably the more _personal_ one, and _by_ far the tougher decision."

Wow. What could be more intense than joining a lion's pride?

"You say you have no one left?" Mufasa asked me. I shake my head sadly. "Well, your tale really touched our hearts.. We couldn't _bear_ to see you so alone, so we'd like to ask you: Would you consider being our son?" I just had to gasp aloud at this. This- This _is_ intense! On top of them inviting me into their pride, they'd, adopt me? I had to make sure.

"Y- You mean you'd, adopt me as your own _son_?" I asked. Mufasa and Sarabi nodded with wide grins on their faces. "That's right, Drew. I _know_ we can't replace the ones that you've lost, but we'd sure love to give it a shot. So, what do you say?" I stood there completely speechless.

How could someone be so kind and thoughtful? Not to mention how I thought they were gonna _eat_ me just a short while ago. I look at their faces, and they then change into that of my biological mom and dad. The same kindness, same selflessness, same smiles. I smiled with utmost happiness and hugged them both out of nowhere, taking them by surprise.

As a couple of stray tears run down my face, I respond,

"I'd love that a whole lot.. _Thank_ you." They smile and nuzzle me back.

"It's the least we could do for you." Sarabi said.

She looked at Mufasa and asked, "Should we tell them?"

Mufasa nodded and roared, signaling the pride to pay attention. After a few seconds of muttering, the pride soon fell silent, casting their full attention on the King, Queen, and even _me_..

"Attention everyone." Mufasa began. "It brings me _great_ pleasure to announce, Drew will be joining our pride." The pride had mixed responses. Some cheered, while others weren't so sure. "But that's not all.. Sarabi and I have also adopted him as our son." Again, same reactions. Some cheered aloud, happy about this. The other pride members just weren't so sure and didn't trust me yet.

And understandably so..

That got me thinking..

'_Why ARE they being so nice to me? They didn't have to DO all of this! Not to mention we just MET.. I can't tell if lions' customs and behavior is just DIFFERENT to how humans would act, or if they just have more TRUST, or what.. All I know is, if they're truly genuine, I'm grateful..'_

The concerned faces of some of the pride was _very _clear.. This caused Drew to frown slightly and get a bit nervous, as they appeared to stare daggers at him, but he understood it completely..

A newcomer coming in and joining their pride almost _immediately_? As well as becoming family to their King and Queen? Naturally, there's _going _to be some questions.. And even Mufasa and Sarabi appeared to understand that.

"But Mufasa," a lioness began to ask. "What about you and Sarabi's cub? Does this mean that Drew will be king before him? He only just _now_ showed up!.

"Our cub will still take over the throne before Drew does. It is our cub's _birthright_. However, Drew will still be royalty and in line for the throne regardless." Mufasa said.

I gasped and asked, "You mean, I'm a _prince_?"

Mufasa nodded and said, "That you _are_. You would only be king, however, if I died, then my cub, and then my brother, Scar. However, if me and Scar died and my cub is still too young, you would take over until he or she is of age."

"I didn't know you had a brother." Mufasa nodded.

"I do. He has... _changed_ over these past few years. But he's _still_ my brother, regardless."

"I thought only one male was allowed in a pride."

"That is the traditional way of ruling a kingdom. We don't _do_ that anymore. It was outlawed many, many moons ago. Now it doesn't matter how many males are in a pride; just as long as they follow the laws just like everyone else and don't challenge the king for the throne."

'_Wow. Who knew?'_ I thought. I nodded in understanding while Mufasa finished up his announcement.

"Okay everyone. It's _really_ late, and we should get some sleep. We have a busy day tomorrow, as we always do." Everyone nodded and Mufasa roared once more, signaling the end of the announcement.

I covered my ears at the noise while thinking,

'_I've really gotta get used to that.'_

We all walk inside the cave, or 'Pride Rock' as I now know it as, and we all start to lay down to sleep for the night. I walk back to my old spot in the corner when I hear Mufasa call for me.

"Drew. Come over here." I do as he says and Mufasa tells me, "Royalty gets to sleep up here on this rock slope. This'll be your new place to sleep."

I nod while placing my backpack against the wall while thinking, '_It's gonna take time to get used to not sleeping in an actual bed, but this is my home now. I've gotta make the best of it.'_

I lay down in between Mufasa and Sarabi, or should I say 'Mom' and 'Dad', ready to sleep for the night. As I doze off, I feel the both of them nuzzle me, my final thought being,

'_I'm home..'_

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**A/N: So there it was! Drew has officially met the Pride, and things are starting to get a bit more interesting.. And yeah, I'm aware now that him getting accepted by the Pride was a bit quick, as was pointed out by my reviewers in the past, but this was what 15 year old me decided to go with like 3 years ago. XD So apologies haha. I assure you, things pick up from here! **

**I do hope you at least enjoyed this for what it was, anyhow. Hope to hear y'all's thoughts in the reviews! See ya next time for chapter 3! **


	3. Chapter 3: Family Gatherings

**A/N: Yes.. You **_**are **_**seeing an update this early! XD This isn't an elaborate joke! I'm just quite excited to get another chapter out to you guys, soo.. Here it is, lol. **

**Review response time, then onto the chapter!**

**Jason Chandler: That he has! And wow.. I never actually thought of it that way, haha! I guess Mufasa and the Pride Lands are just that lucky. **

**AutobotGuy710: Thanks, man! **

**Phenomenal Ultra Instinct (For Chapter 1): Yessir! That's correct! It's **_**just **_**before the first movie's beginning, but through the course of the story, we'll be seeing those movie events, albeit **_**altered **_**ones.. ;)**

**Phenomenal Ultra Instinct (For Chapter 2): I 100% agree. It was **_**wayy **_**too quick, but yeah.. 15 year old me goofed! XD To answer your question, **_**trust **_**me.. The events of the movie will be **_**drastically **_**changed due to Drew's presence! It'll still have the feel of the classic Disney film, but will of course have its own spin to it. **

**Marcus Graves (Guest): Oh, you'll find out soon enough.. ;) **

**Daniel's the Man (Guest): I imagine you're **_**right**_**.. Scar never **_**was **_**very accepting of Simba in the movie, and to add an entirely different **_**species **_**in the mix? Yeah.. He won't be happy. XD**

**Jestalnaker94000: Haha, that Family Guy reference, tho. XD And hmm.. Maybe you're right.. ;) Yes, I did see the remake for The Lion King and.. Oh boy.. Here's my review as brief as I can put it: It just lacked the **_**soul **_**of the original, y'know? The characters looked like lifeless puppets, and the emotion felt like it was never there.. Take the new Gorge scene for example. It just felt like.. a **_**parody **_**at best! Now, I won't spoil anything for those of you who haven't watched it yet, but.. Yeah.. I was sadly disappointed.**

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Chapter 3: Family Encounters

_I hear the pilots in the cockpit over the intercom. _

_"Mayday! Mayday! We're going down! Everyone put on your safety masks!" _

_I look out the window in panic and see the left wing on fire. I quickly put on my safety mask and look over at my parents. _

_"It'll be okay!" My mom yells at me through all the noise and panic throughout the plane. _

_"We'll get through this!" My dad says now. I breathe heavily, obviously not looking forward to the crash landing. My dad grabs my shoulder,_

_"Look at me!" he says. I do so and I see him smile at me. Weird, almost the same kind smile Mufasa has. "We'll be fine, Drew! We LOVE you, kiddo!" I couldn't help but smile back, followed by a sigh. _

_My mother looked at me with the same caring and concerned expression that Sarabi has... Strange. Is this supposed to mean something? As a matter a fact, there are various similarities between my biological parents and my new adoptive parents. _

_"And we always will!" Mom told me. She looked a little worried, but managed to keep a calm and collected composure. Through my heavy breathing, with a slight smile, I managed to say, _

_"I love you t-" _

"_AHHH!"_

_CRASH!_

* * *

My body jolted and I sat up while breathing and sweating heavily. I could even feel some tears in my eyes, as well as some stray ones on my face.

I look outside and see some faint light, which means that the sun was about to rise.

"Are you alright, Drew?" I look over at the voice and see that it's Mufasa, who apparently saw my reaction to the nightmare. My breathing starts to slow down a bit now and I respond,

"I- I just had a _nightmare_." Mufasa walked up to me and questioned supportively,

"What was it about?" Tears start to water up in my eyes once again.

"M- My parents.. I saw them just before they died." Tears start to flow now and and can't help it one bit. I look at his face and it immediately reminded me of Dad. After this, the tears couldn't be fought in any way. They _had_ to come out.

Out of nowhere, I reach out and hug Mufasa. He lets out a grunt of surprise but then a couple seconds later, hugs me back.

"Why!? Oh God, _why_!?" I shout through tears. Mufasa hugs me even tighter now.

"It's okay, Drew. We'll get through this." My mind instantly plays what my dad said to me on the plane just before he and my mom died,

_"We'll get through this." _He said. This causes me to hug Mufasa tighter and say,

"I love you, Dad." This wasn't meant for Mufasa directly, but my '_human_' father. It sort of just slipped out. "I- I'm _so _sorry! That was-"

Mufasa smiled and said, "I understand what happened. But.. _listen_, and just know this: Sarabi and I will try out hardest to guide you throughout your new life. We aren't going anywhere. I _promise_." I release my hug on him and dry up my tears.

"Thank you, Mufasa.." I say with a slight smile now. With a smile of his own, Mufasa replies,

"No problem." He walks a little towards the entrance and tells me, "Stay here and allow your injuries to mend.. Rafiki says you should be walking within a month. Apparently it's only a minor fracture."

I grin widely now. "That's good news!" I say.

"Yes it is. Just stay off of it for a while and you'll be up and walking in no time." He now walks to the entrance of the den.

"Wait!" I exclaim. Mufasa turns around and awaits what I have to say. "Where are you off to, anyways?" I look and see no lionesses in the cave. "And where is the rest of the pride?"

"The lionesses decided to get an early start on the hunt. They're heading to the antelope territory today, which is quite a distance off compared to the zebra and wildebeest territories. Sarabi however, is down at the Waterhole, along with Saraflna, Nzuri, and several others."

My face turns curious now. "If I may ask, how come?"

Mufasa smiles. "Because they're pregnant."

My face instantly turns shocked and my jaw drops. How could I not see this!? Maybe I just didn't look close enough...

"P- _Pregnant_?" Mufasa nodded. I exhale deeply. "Wow.. You said they were at a place called the 'Waterhole'. What's that?"

"It's basically where everyone drinks from. It not too far from here." I nod in acknowledgment. "Why? Are you thirsty?" I shake my head 'no'.

''I'm not, but thanks."

"As for your other question, I'm going on my morning patrol.. I walk through the kingdom to make sure no rouges or hyenas endanger the kingdom." I nod my head in understanding.

'_Hyenas. Can't say I like them too much…'_ I thought.

"Well, I must be going. I don't want to be late. Farewell, Drew."

"Bye, Mufasa." I say in response. He turns around and exits the cave, leaving me alone. I sigh and lay back down, ready to go back to sleep.

Before I can, however, I hear a deep, sinister British voice,

"_You_!" The voice spat with absolute disgust, hatred, and venom. Now call me crazy, but judging from his tone, it sounded like he _really_ hated me!

Who _was_ this guy? I snapped open my eyes and sat up, finally looking at the source of said voice.

He was a lion, obviously male. He had a jet black mane and a brownish pelt. He looked rather scrawny for a lion, but could still rip me to shreds if he wanted to no doubt! The most noticeable and unique feature about this lion was a scar that went down his left eye.

Wait! Could this be Mufasa's brother, 'Scar'!?

The fact that he had a scar really leaned my answer towards a 'yes'.

"S- _Scar_?" I asked with a shaky voice, though at the same time also wanting confirmation. Without changing his angry looking expression, the lion responded,

"_Ah_, so you know who I am.. No matter. Now there's no confusion." Scar now started to walk towards me, but not in a normal way. He slinked over towards me, looking like he wanted to kill me.

I started to get terrified now. I couldn't defend myself while I had these injuries, not that it would matter anyway. If I was healed, he'd still probably kill me easily!

"Wh-What do you want?" I shakily asker once again. Scar now wore a devious looking grin, seeing my obvious fear.

"Oh don't be _afraid_! We just have much to _discuss_!" Out of nowhere, Scar growled and slashed his claws on my chest, making me scream in pain! The initial attack left four claw marks on my skin and tears in my shirt.

Scar now pinned me to the ground to where I couldn't move, which really started to irritate my shoulder!

"Who do you think you _are_? You have no place on this rock, _or_ in these lands! Your _kind_ is not welcome here! You will pay for what you and your kind have _done_ to us!"

I was now really confused, before attempting to ask,

"What? What did-"

Before I could finish, Scar pressed his weight down onto me even harder, really hurting me and making me uncomfortable. Scar looked at my leg which had the leaves on it. I saw him looking at it and then smile.

With a gasp, I thought to myself,

'_Oh dear God no-'_ Scar put his hind leg on top of my broken leg, hurting it really bad. Scar finally let up after a little bit once he was satisfied by my torment, finally saying,

"I guess this is goodbye, _human_!" Scar rose his paw up, claws unsheathed, ready to deliver the finishing blow. I closed my eyes and flinched, awaiting him to just put an _end _to this..

Instead, however, I felt Scar's weight leave me completely, followed by a loud crashing sound. I opened my eyes and saw that it was Mufasa, who tackled Scar to the ground, restraining him.

"That's _enough_, Scar!" Mufasa growled angrily at his brother.

Scar growled back and said,

"Mufasa! You insolent _fool_! I was just about to finish off that... _thing_, and now you've interrupted me!"

Mufasa sent another growl at Scar and he said, "That _'thing'_ is a member of this pride now, as well as me and Sarabi's adopted _son_!"

Scar let out a gasp, attaining a shocked expression. Once he recovered, Scar responded,

"Mufasa, you can't be _serious_! You've let this pusillanimous little _worm_ into the pride!? Let alone adopting him!"

Scar shook his head, before adding,

"You're too _soft_ Mufasa! That's what you are! Why Ahadi chose _you_ to be king, I will never know.. Though, of course, you always _were _the favorite! Weren't you, '_Muffy'_?"

Mufasa roared at Scar, causing me to cover my ears, and Scar to shut up.

"Leave our father out of this!" Mufasa warned.

"_Your_ father." Scar said in a now calm voice. Almost _too_ calm. "Ahadi was _no_ true father in my eyes! He always paid attention to _you_! 'Mufasa. Future king of the Pridelands'." Scar said in a mocking tone.

Mufasa's face still had that angry glare to it. Scar chuckled a bit and continued, "But me? I was _nothing_ to him-" Before Scar could continue, Mufasa cut him off.

"That's not _true_!" Scar roared now, stunning Mufasa, as Scar was never one to show this much anger around him. This made him loosen up his grip on Scar.

Mufasa allowed Scar to stand up now, but blocked his path to me.

"Oh quit _denying_ it, Mufasa! Other than that, I don't wish to talk about 'father'-" Scar said father with disgust evident in his voice. "-I wish to talk about this _creature_ that you've allowed to stay here!"

Mufasa went from his stunned expression, to his angry and frustrated one again.

"There's nothing to discuss! And he has a _name_, you know! It's 'Drew', not _'creature'_." Mufasa told Scar.

Scar rolled his piercing green eyes and replied,

"It doesn't matter what his name is! What _matters_ is the grave mistake you're making, and the _danger_ you're putting the entire pride, maybe even the _Kingdom_ in!"

"This conversation is _over_!" Mufasa thundered.

Scar growled and made his way towards the exit. He turned his head around to face us, before he told Mufasa,

"You'd be a _fool_ to not listen to my words, _Brother_.. His kind have been here before, and they'll do it _all_ over again!"

"I _remember_ the stories of Grandfather battling the Lion Killers, but you shouldn't judge an individual based on his or her species."

It all makes _sense_ now! _That's_ why Mufasa looked so shocked when I revealed myself as a human!

Lion Killers huh? He must be referring to poachers. I could never stand the bastards, myself...

"You know, Mufasa, even though you think he won't try and kill us all, you're _wrong_!" Scar continued to argue. "I just wanted to finish him off before we suffered any casualties."

"We're _done_ here, Scar.." Mufasa spoke with authority, his opinion unmoving.

Scar put on an angered expression, before saying one final thing,

"Heed my words, Mufasa: _always_ keep your eyes open.. You just _never_ know when someone might betray you, even if they're _very_ close to you.."

With that, Scar turned around and left.

That final sentence brought a _shiver_ down my spine. Mufasa sighed and muttered something that I couldn't hear; however I _did_ manage to hear the word 'brother'.

Mufasa turned to face me and he softly asked,

"Are you okay? Those cuts will need to be healed by Rafiki."

"I- I'm fine.." I replied through deep breaths, still trying to recover from the shock of what had just happened.. "What did Scar _mean_ by 'Lion Killers'? Were there humans here before?" I questioned, wanting to know what was going on.

Mufasa sighed and answered,

"Supposedly. There was a story of how my Grandfather Mohatu and his pride battled the beasts. It was close, but my Grandfather emerged victorious. They haven't been anywhere _near_ here ever since. Well, until _now_ at least."

I shook my head and I replied,

"I can't _believe_ your brother would think that I would endanger the pride and the Kingdom.." Mufasa sighed and shook his head.

"I suppose I can see where he's coming from, but I can tell that you have a good heart.. Him attacking you was _completely_ out of line, and I'll have someone watching you until you're healed to avoid future attacks! I _apologize_ for his actions.."

I try to sit up, but I get sent back down because of the cuts and the irritated injuries.

"It's okay.. You don't have to apologize-"

"Yes I _do_! I should've kept a better eye on him. I should've got someone to watch you in the first place!" The Lion King sighed, before he added more calmly,

''I'm just glad you're alright.."

There were some noises and faint talking coming from outside. Mufasa now smiled, before saying,

"Ah, the hunting party has returned! I'll have someone get Rafiki so he can take a look at you."

I nodded, and Mufasa exited Pride Rock in a rush. In an effort to try and keep things as positive as possible, I jokingly thought,

'_Ah, I just LOVE family gatherings...'_

* * *

**There we go! Another chapter completed. So Scar is really suspicious of Drew huh? So suspicious that he was going to kill him! But that's kind of expected out of Scar. What will happen next? Tune in next time to find out! Constructive criticism is appreciated. Please review and look out for the next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4: The Scheme and Newcomer

**A/N: Woah! Can you believe it, guys? XD We've actually reached the chapter 4 mark! Now, I understand there was some critique on Scar's attitude last chapter, and quite frankly, I definitely agree. He could have most certainly been more subtle about it, and not have been as physically violent at this current point. Again, this was how the story originally went, and.. yeah lol. My knowledge of Scar and his interesting, complex character wasn't as prominent as it is now.**

**Because of this, without taking away from what I originally intended to convey, I promise to **_**change **_**certain words and things around if need be from this point on, should they just make little to no sense. **

**I do thank you all for your critiques, as this helps me to see the problems, and fix them differently as we move forward! :) **

**We're in for another chapter where major things go down, so hopefully you'll enjoy it! Just let me know your thoughts if ya want. **

**Review response time, then we'll get started!**

**Liam Holman: Same, Liam.. Same XD**

**Jason Chandler: Indeed.. Perhaps he'll catch more of a break this time around. And about Scar, hmm.. Maybe he will.. ;)**

**Marcus Graves (Guest): That he did! Luckily Mufasa was there just in time. And as for Drew having a love interest.. Yes and no. What do I mean? Well, you'll find out in time. **

**Daniel's the Man (Guest): Thanks! And yep, you definitely were correct. As for what Scar will plan next? Well.. Read on and find out. **

**GeminiSparkSX: Because of you and a couple of other critiques, as explained in the author's note above, I'll change things that just make absolutely no sense from here on out, though only things that don't **_**drastically **_**affect the plot in a way that makes the original tale unrecognizable. If that makes sense :). I'll admit, you guys, it's been a couple years since I've read these chapters as well! XD Some things are just as much a surprise to me as they are to you. And I certainly will, Micah! Right back at you! **

**Jestalnaker94000: You definitely did remember! XD And **_**agreed**_**.. I personally don't see many redeeming factors for the remake, other than the fact that it made me want to watch the '94 version that much more! Though if any of the rest of you like it, that's **_**totally **_**cool! Just my opinion. :)**

**Guest: For the most part, it will absolutely be the same story as it was the first time. Same text and all, just with adjustments in dialogue and grammar to make it more readable.**

**Phenomenal Ultra Instinct: Indeed you are correct! Scar went a bit more overboard last chapter than I would've liked, however, later on in the story, it will go a bit more into Scar's backstory, as well as humans' past roles in the Pridelands. I've taken this review in mind, and will utilize your words well going forward. :)**

**vburro08: Thanks, man! Good to hear from you again! And yes, they will most certainly be in the story, just as they were before.**

**OneGuyFromEngland: That means a lot! XD I'm glad to hear from you once more, and also hope that the following chapters will be just as much nostalgic for you!**

* * *

Chapter 4: The Scheme and Newcomer

"Hmm... " someone said while deep in thought.

Who is this person you may ask? Well, the answer is this.. _really_ weird monkey!

Okay, so his name is 'Rafiki', as Mufasa tells me. But come on! This guy _really_ weirds me out. Did I mention how I looked away for maybe half a second, and as soon as I looked back, he was _right_ freaking there!? I didn't? Well, it happened...

Anyways, creepiness aside, he was now looking over my wounds.

"Okay. I think I know how to fix dis." Rafiki says after a while of looking over my wounds.

"You do?" I ask. Rafiki lets out a chuckle and replies,

"Ah yes! Luckily your wounds are nothing too serious. Rafiki will get you taken care of."

What the heck? Does he talk in third-person or something? This monkey just keeps getting stranger and _stranger_ by the minute.. Not that I'm not grateful for what he's _doing_, of course.

Rafiki took a gourd from off of his walking stick and split it open. He reached inside and got this weird, sappy juice from inside of the gourd onto his fingers.

"Careful! Dis may sting a little bit."

As soon as his fingers made contact with my wounds, I winced in pain, saying,

"Ah! _Damn_, that hurts." Rafiki chuckled once more.

"Rafiki _warned_ you.."

Yep, still weird..

He finally got done rubbing the juice on my cuts and he took a step back,

"Your previous leg and shoulder wounds weren't affected too much. They should be healed on time."

I smile at this news and I say,

"Thank you, Rafiki." Rafiki bows and says,

"Anything for de prince.." I sure wasn't used to being royalty yet, but it does feel really awesome! I knew my last name had to mean _something_..

Mufasa walked up to Rafiki with a smile and said,

"I appreciate all you've done here today." Rafiki shrugged it off,

"Rafiki appreciates your appreciation." He then chuckles a bit at his sentence. "Just be careful now." He says to everyone present.

You might be wondering who else walked in while I was getting my little check up. Well, the lionesses down at the waterhole returned just a couple minutes after the hunting party. The lionesses present at this time are: Sarabi, Nzuri, and four other pregnant lionesses whose names I didn't know quite yet.

Rafiki bowed one more time and made his leave. Sarabi got up from her spot and started to speak to me,

"How are you feeling, my son?" I chuckled to try and alleviate at least a little bit of the pain from the recent wounds Scar inflicted upon me and then said,

"Much better than I was earlier, that's for sure." Sarabi sighed with a smile and replied,

"Good. We're just glad that your injuries weren't too severe."

"I know _I'm_ glad." I muttered to myself.

With a smile, Mufasa said, ''I'm going to see how the hunting party is faring with that antelope. I'll be back."

Sarabi and I nodded and he exited the den. I looked over at the lionesses whom I didn't know and said,

"I don't believe I've met you ladies." They smiled at me while Sarabi said, "Allow me to introduce you to them." She pointed at Nzuri first. "You already met Nzuri, as Mufasa and I saw."

"Hi." Nzuri said with a smile. I send a smile back her way and wave in response.

Sarabi now points at a cream colored lioness with light blue eyes. "This here is Sarafina."

"Nice to finally meet you Drew." She greeted.

"Likewise." I said in response.

Sarabi now motioned to a lioness who had a darker brown pelt than Nzuri and had amber eyes. "This is Asha."

"Asha, huh? I like that name.." I complimented.

Asha smiles and responds,

"Thanks. It actually means 'life' in Swahili." I nod my head at this realization.

'_Interesting.' _I thought.

"Here we have Mchumba." Mchumba had the same color pelt as Sarabi with green eyes.

"Hello." She greeted.

"She also started having major cravings when she got pregnant.." Sarafina joked.

"Did not!" Mchumba countered.

Asha rose an eyebrow and countered, "Oh? You don't remember that time you ate _three_ zebra legs?"

Mchumba huffed and said, "Okay, fine! Maybe I ate a _little_ too much." The lionesses all rolled their eyes with smiles, which I just had to smile at, myself. I could tell these ladies were going to be pretty fun pride members.

"Lastly, here is Nia." Nia smirked and said in a cocky tone,

"Only _the_ best huntress in the Pridelands." The lionesses all rolled their eyes with smirks on their faces and Nzuri said,

"Pfft. Yeah right."

"I believe that either goes to Sarabi or Sarafina." Asha stated.

Nia still with that smirk on her face countered jokingly,

"You know you're just _jealous_.." She now faced me. "Anyways, it's nice to finally meet you Drew."

"Same here, Nia." I replied.

"So Drew," Nzuri started. "How old are you? 24 moons? 36 moons?" I'm surprised by her guesses, but remember that lions age _faster_ than humans do..

At 12 moons, that's one year total, due to one moon equaling a month. I'd still be a _toddler_ if I was 24 moons old! I suppose they're in for quite a shock.

"Actually, Nzuri," I start. 'I'm 18 years old. Or in other terms, 216 moons old." The lionesses all gasped in absolute shock with eyes widened.

"216 moons old!? But you're an adolescent!" Sarafina said, still shocked by my claim.

"Well you see, humans age a _lot_ slower than lions do.. Whereas you guys reach maturity at around 36 moons, I reach mine at 216 moons, which I just hit."

They were absolutely stunned.

"It's strange how my own son is older than me. A _lot_ older than me. By the Great Kings, you were around before Mohatu was born!" Sarabi said.

"This news is quite something.." Someone said by the entrance. We looked at the source and saw that it was Mufasa, who looked to be standing there the whole time.

"How long were you there?" I asked curiously.

"Ever since Nzuri asked how old you were. Not very long." He answered.

"Hey," I start to say as I have a realization. "I guess I'll be around to see the future generations of the kingdom even 60 years from now if I'm lucky. Or if my math is correct, 720 moons."

I thought everyone's faces couldn't be anymore shocked. Boy was I wrong! Mufasa went from a shocked expression, to now a happy one.

"It's very interesting to know that you'll possibly live for 1,000 moons or more. That means you'll be around to protect the Pridelands for many generations to come!" I smile at this. I'd be more than happy to defend my new home, but I'm not exactly a fighter so to speak.

Wait! How could this question not come to mind sooner!?

"I have a question." I say.

"Fire away." Mufasa said, awaiting my question.

"Well, all my life, I haven't exactly been a fighter. So I was wondering if, when I healed, you could teach me how to fight?" Mufasa didn't even have to think it over. He smiled and replied,

"Say no more. I'll teach you everything I can. Though, your fighting tactics will be quite different than mine, so there's only so much you can learn from me.."

"Oh." I said in slight disappointment.

"However," Mufasa then added. This got my attention back. "There _is_ someone who I have a feeling will fight _very_ similar to how you can." This got me curious.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"Boo!" Someone suddenly spoke audibly right into my ear.

I felt my heart jump out of my chest and I flinched in momentary fear. Upon turning around, I saw that it was that blasted monkey again!

"How- How the _hell_ did you even do that?" I asked. I glanced over at the lionesses for help, but they merely shrugged.

"Fear not my Prince! Ol' Raflki will teach you the ways of combat."

I had to scoff at this. "Oh yeah? How?"

Out of nowhere, Raflki screamed, "Ah! What is that!?"

He pointed his finger behind me, and I guess my curiosity took over. When I looked to see what it was, Rafiki took his walking stick and whacked me over the head with it.

"OW!" I said as I rubbed my head in pain. "What the fuck was that for!?"

Rafiki merely smiled and replied,

"That was test number one in my combat training. You _failed_. Now listen, dear Prince.. _Always_ expect the unexpected. You never know what your opponent might try and do to gain the advantage over you."

I took his advice and remembered it, but was still a little peeved that he hit me over the head with his stick. I looked over and saw Mufasa smirking at me, trying not to laugh,

"Oh, and I suppose it would be funny if he hit _you_ with that stick?"

Still smiling, Mufasa replied,

"It's happened to me more times than I can count.. Be cautious, it's one of his most repetitive teaching methods."

I sigh and say, "Well, shit... "

* * *

Scar silently trudged his way towards the Elephant Graveyard, a scowl on his face due to his brother's actions.

"Cursed Mufasa! If _I_ was king, that pest would be long dead by now!" Scar complained to himself.

Upon entering the Graveyard, he was greeted by his friends, the hyena trio themselves: Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed.

"Hey, Taka!" Shenzi greeted her friend by his childhood name, something that Scar and the hyenas alike were used to since they were pups and a cub respectively.. Though it was becoming rarer and rarer with each passing day..

"Hello, Shenzi.." Scar said in a frustrated tone of voice.

"What's got _you_ all worked up?" Shenzi asked.

"It's my idiot brother! The fool has let a _human_ into our pride! Not only that, but he's _adopted_ him!" The three hyenas gasped slightly, even Ed.

"Human!? I bet you it's that same bastard who killed Haraka!" Shenzi said.

"Yeah. He had a devastating wound to the head. Poor Haraka... " Banzai said sadly.

"That's what I'm _saying_!" Scar said. "That human can be dangerous just as his kind were during my grandfather's rule!"

"I say he needs to _die_." Shenzi commented.

"Agreed.." Scar said.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Scar's head. He grinned in a sinister manner and soon added, "Perhaps we can pull that off after _all_."

"How so?" Banzai asked.

"It will take time.. That's a _given_.. I overheard Mufasa and the _human's _conversation not long after I 'left'.. Mufasa vows to have the human under constant surveillance until his injuries have healed, so dealing with him now is unwise.. However," Scar began to explain what he had in mind as he nonchalantly scaled the elephant bones. "I shall utilize my closeness to the pride to find out a time when I _know _the human will be isolated.." Scar wickedly smirked.

"That, Shenzi, is when you shall rally up about 20 or so hyenas." Scar said. "Tear him _apart_! I won't have that creature get in the way of _my _ascension to the throne! It's _enough _that Mufasa has a brat on the way, but to have a _human _as his son!?"

Scar narrowed his piercing green eyes, before finishing,

"He is a threat that _must _be dealt with! That human only lengthens the amount of time you are forced to _linger _here in these scrapless, barren Outlands!"

All the hyenas within earshot began to growl, emphasizing their newfound hatred of this human.

Seeing that he had gotten the hyenas worked up, Scar knew that the wait would make the pack that much more dangerous..

And once the human was finally alone?

Scar smirked in an unsettling way, before he thought,

_'Enjoy whatever days you have left, human, because they will be your last!'_

* * *

**ONE MONTH LATER!**

Finally! I can finally walk again! It took me a month, but it's sure as hell worth it. Man does it feel good!

Anyways, enough of my excitement. I suppose I should catch you up on what's happened this past month:

Nothing huge really went down. The pride was both surprised and confused when I had to build a fire to cook whatever meat the hunting party brought back. Of course, I had to explain that humans get sick if it's not cooked properly.

There was one rogue, but he was only passing through, nothing more. Luckily, there wasn't a single hyena sighting this past month, which is good, because God knows I've had enough of hyenas!

Anyways, that pretty much about sums it up. Nothing really eventful happened. None of the cubs were born, but it looks pretty close right about now!

I exited the den for the first time since I had fully healed, and walked to the very edge of Pride Rock where I about fell to my death my first night here. Pretty ironic, I must say, that a place I once tried to escape from out of fear, grew into my new home and the place I loved being the most!

My hair grew a little bit, but nothing too serious. I began to have a bit of stubble show up on my face, as I hadn't shaved in quite a while.

I'll probably have to do something about that later..

I see that my Dad is at the top of Pride Rock, looking at the sunrise. No, not my biological dad, my _adoptive_ dad.

It was rather awkward for the first month after Mufasa and Sarabi adopted me to call them 'Mom' or 'Dad', but I eventually got over that about a few days ago and finally started to call them that, much to their delight.

Anyways, I walked up to the edge of Pride Rock and stood beside Dad.

"Good morning, Dad." I say. Dad smiles and looks at me.

"Good morning, Son." He notices that I'm finally walking. "I see that you're finally up and moving."

"Yeah.. It's about time, I say." I slightly grinned.

Dad chuckled and asked,

"So, are you going to Rafiki's tree for fighting lessons today?"

I sigh and say,

"I suppose so. Though I'm not looking forward to getting hit in the head again."

Dad chuckled once more and responded,

"It happens when Raflki is involved.. You remember where it is, right?" I nod my head.

"Yes, I remember. I think I'll get a quick drink from the waterhole before I go."

"That's fine." Dad responds. "Well, I'm off to do my morning patrol. See you later, Son."

"Okay. Bye, Dad. See ya soon."

Mufasa then set off to do his kingly duties for the morning. I left shortly after, heading towards the Waterhole.

On my way over there, I see a pretty decent sized tree limb on the ground in front of me.

"Hmm ... " I say as an idea comes to my mind.

I picked up the stick and pulled out my hunting knife, before sitting against a nearby tree and beginning to carve one end of the stick so that it was sharp.

After about roughly 10 minutes, I finished it.

Now instead of my hunting knife which attacks at a shorter distance, I now have a _spear_ which I can use at a longer distance away.

"Smart thinking, Drew. Smart thinking.. Use a weapon to _make_ a weapon." I say to myself.

I got up and continued on my way to the Waterhole immediately after concealing my knife once more, and doing some practice jabs with my newly carved spear.

"Huh, it doesn't make a bad walking stick, either." I then smirked and added, "Maybe I can finally teach that monkey a lesson with a stick of my _own_."

All of a sudden, I hear some rustling in the bushes. I raise my spear defensively and try to figure out what it is. It soon emerges and my entire body went pale at the sight.

It was about 20 hyenas who now began to circle around me!

Before I could find an opening out of there, they trap me inside their little circle, surrounding me.

"Well look who it is.." A hyena says. I widen my eyes.

'_That voice ... It's so familiar.'_ I thought.

Then, it _finally_ hits me..

"Mabaya!?" I exclaim in disbelief.

Mabaya laughs and sarcastically replies, "Aww. You remember me.. I'm _touched_."

Mabaya and his hyena pack stepped a little closer towards me. I rose my spear up defensively once more, readying myself in case they attacked.

"Come any closer, and this goes _straight_ through your fucking heart!" I threatened, trying my mask my internal fear.

"Ooh! We got ourselves a feisty one, huh boys?" Mabaya asked his pack.

"Sure do, boss!" a hyena said.

"What the hell do you want anyway? Revenge? Is _that_ it?"

Mabaya laughed for a second,before vaguely responding,

"Well, yes and no.."

What did that even _mean_!?

"Get him, boys!" Mabaya gave the order with a wicked smirk, licking his lips. He looked _hungry_.. They _all _did!

The hyenas all charged at once and tried tackling me to the ground. I tried to block the hyenas with my spear the best I could, but I knew it was in vain.

The hyenas sent me crashing to the ground and they snapped their teeth at me to eat me alive. I thought this was it. Done. I was _dead_!

_ROAR!_

The mighty roar of a lion, along with surprised and startled yelps from hyenas, filled my ears, returning hope within me.

'_Dad!' _I happily thought.

The hyenas stopped trying to kill me and started attacking my Dad.

But- Wait a second! _That's_ not my dad, that's ... HOLY SHIT! That's a _huge_ lion!

The lion had golden brown fur with a dark brown mane that extended over his shoulders and underbelly, stopping at his midsection. Also, both his underbelly and his paws were a creamy white color. Lastly, this lion wasn't only big in height, my guess being about 5 feet 5 inches at the shoulder, as a matter a fact, but _also_ in strength and muscle!

I mean, I'm looking at him tossing these hyenas around like _ragdolls_! His body length was probably just a bit longer than two of me put together!

After what seemed like an eternity, I heard the mortified voice of Mabaya command,

"Retreat! Retreat!" The hyenas took off running to who knows where, but not before the huge lion grabbed one more hyena who tried to escape.

He bit down on the hyena's jugular, tearing it clean off like it was nothing! The hyena fell to the ground, _dead_.

In total, I counted probably 11 dead hyenas out of the 20 that showed up! The huge lion finally looked over at me, and quite frankly, I was fucking scared!

If he can go through all those hyenas no problem, I can just imagine what he can do to _me_! I rose my spear up and stood to my feet, but not without my entire body trembling in evident fright.

However, instead of trying to attack me, he did the _last_ thing I expected!

"Are you okay?"

Did he _seriously_ just ask me that?

I thought he was scaring the hyenas off so they wouldn't contaminate his dinner!

"W-What?" I asked in confusion.

"I _said_, 'are you okay'?" The giant lion repeated, appearing genuinely concerned.

With confusion still evident on my face, I replied, "Uh, _yeah_.. Thanks... "

The lion smiled and formally introduced,

"My name's Joe. What about you?"

Huh.. Interesting name for a lion in the _heart _of Africa. But oh well, who am I to judge?

I put my spear back in a walking stick position and I answered, ''I'm Drew, prince of the Pridelands." Joe looked surprised for a split second, but then excited.

"So you're the human prince I've been hearing so much about!"

Strange, I wonder how he heard about that..

"Word travels pretty fast across these lands huh?" I asked.

Joe nodded and replied,

"Yep! I actually heard it from a couple of zebra about 25 miles back that way." Joe pointed in the opposite direction he was facing.

Before I could say something else, I hear another deafening lion's roar. It's my dad!

He charged over towards us and stood directly in front of me in a defensive position, cutting off Joe's path to me. There were also 7 lionesses, all of whom I didn't get to know quite yet.

"State your business here, rogue!" Dad roared.

Joe stuttered a bit and said,

"W-Well, you see Your Majesty, I was just passing through and-"

"I mean what business do you have with my _son_? You weren't going to hurt him, were you!?"

"N- No, I-" Joe stuttered.

"It's okay, Dad! He's cool.. He actually saved me from a pack of hyenas." I defended Joe as I pointed at some now deceased hyenas.

Upon observing the scene before him, Dad nodded and responded,

"So I see.." He looked at Joe and added, "Thank you. I am forever in your debt."

Joe shook his head in rejection. "Oh no, no, Your Majesty.. You don't have to owe me a thing!"

"Of _course_ I do! You saved my son's life, after all. What can I do to repay you?" Joe went into thought, before he suggested with a nervous grin,

"Well.. I _am _kind of in need of a home. Heh heh.."

Mufasa cocked a brow, as if trying to decide on what to do here..

"_If _that isn't crossing any boundaries, Your Majesty!" Joe added on, trying to come off as harmless as possible, just as he actually was..

"Please, call me 'Mufasa', not 'Your Majesty'." Mufasa informed Joe. "Formalities are not as strict in this Kingdom as much as they are some other neighboring prides.."

Joe nodded with an understanding smile, before replying,

"Understood, Mufasa.."

"Now then, whether you join our pride or not is based on who you are and how much you can contribute to the pride.. We'll see who you truly are, and then I'll pass judgement. Thank you again, Joe. I owe my son's life to you.."

"Yeah, thank you, Joe.." I added with a thankful grin.

Joe smiled kindly and replied, "Thanks, Drew. Thanks, Mufasa."

"Let us head back to Pride Rock.." Mufasa suggested, before he turned to me attentively. "Drew, are you injured?"

"No, Dad. I'm quite fine, actually.." I reassured my adoptive father.

Dad smirked and said, "Good. Now you can get to Rafiki's fighting classes.."

I widened my eyes and tried to excuse,

"I don't feel good all of a sudden.."

Dad laughed and said, "Off you go."

I turned around with my spear and walked in the direction of Rafiki's tree.

"Dammit... " I muttered.

* * *

***Note: this is the original ending note for this chapter, but I left it in because I think it still applies* **

**Another chapter done! Looks like Drew is walking now and Scar's plan failed. How will he take it? Do you like Joe so far? Before I leave you all, I have a couple of important things to say. 'Joe' is not my character. All credit for Joe goes to 'Jestalnaker94000', not me. I thank you for letting me use Joe by the way! :) Also, go check out my friend superstarampharos's new 'human in Lion King' fanfiction, 'The Lion King: The child Of Pride Rock' if you get the time to do so. I appreciate it, and he does to! :) Constructive criticism is appreciated. Please review and look out for the next chapter! **


	5. Chapter 5: Fighting Lessons

A/N:** Hey, everyone! I don't have a terrible amount to say except for one vital thing: I've reread the full story again in full for the first time in a couple years, and it's made me reach a decision of sorts. A lot of the plot, mainly involving Scar, **_**will **_**be changed around and improved. Mainly because it felt a bit too simplistic to me, and Scar deserves better as a villain. So while the same **_**general **_**plot and message will be the same as it was before, Scar's plot and a few other things will be changed around for the better! **

**Also guys, I wanna give a HUGE shoutout to my friend, Liam Holman, whom has an account under the same name! Without him, these chapters would have been history, and my drive to continue this will most likely never have come.. So, Liam, **_**thank **_**you! **

**With that said, I have nothing more to say for today, other than I thank you all so much for the support! :) It means alot! Time for the review responses, then- well, you know the drill! XD**

**Jason Chandler: Oh ikr? XD I imagine they wouldn't know what to think! **

**OneGuyFromEngland: I'm glad you're enjoying it! :D Hopefully the adventure is just as good as you remember it! **

**Marcus Graves (Guest): Indeed it is! Drew has **_**definitely **_**had more brushes with death than he'd likely want. XD But lucky for him, fate has **_**other **_**plans..**

**Liam Holman: This, my friend, is the review that changed my mind around! I shouldn't need to just copy and paste the **_**exact **_**original.. This is my chance to actually improve it for the better, which I shall now do! Hopefully everybody won't mind the changes I make, and maybe even like them better! I do wanna emphasize just **_**one **_**more time: the main message and feel of the original will still remain, but it will just have more complexity from Scar, among other nice surprises. **

**Daniel's the Man (Guest): You're right on that one! The question now is, what will Scar think of next? **

**Jestalnaker94000: Thanks, man! And I'll bet! :) Thanks for letting me use him.**

**Phenomenal Ultra Instinct: You're right in everything you say! It's a good thing Drew's luck streak hasn't run out.. **_**yet**_**! And ah yes, that story of his was so good! Just a shame it got deleted, though.. While Drew will learn some vital skills from Rafiki, that indeed won't stop Scar from plotting further! **

**faithcorry634: Oh hi! :D I remember you! It's good to hear from you again. Welcome back!**

* * *

Chapter 5: Fighting Lessons

_CRASH!_

What was that sound you may be wondering? Oh, that was just me falling flat on my ass because of Rafiki.

Who _knew_ the monkey knew kung-fu!?

"Try again." Rafiki sternly told me. I stood to my feet once more and put my spear up defensively.

No, I'm not planning on _stabbing_ him with it! We're sparring with one another with both of our sticks. He whacked me in the head pretty good the first, oh I don't know... _thirty five_ times!

Yes, I counted. You know, I'm actually surprised I don't have brain trauma right about now.

"Go!" He swung his walking stick at my head, which I just barely avoided. I swung my own stick pretty hard at him, only for him to swiftly duck under my attack and send his stick into my stomach. I drop my stick with a pained groan and hold my stomach in pain.

"HEEEYAHH!" Raflki shouted. He sent a kick into my chest, knocking me backwards and onto my back. Raflki twirled his stick around in one hand and then put it back into a walking stick position.

"Dammit!" I shouted. I pound my fist onto the ground in annoyance and get back up. "Why can't I land a hit on you!?"

Raflki's face remained neutral and he began to explain,

"Answer me dis question, Drew: When fighting, what do you mainly focus on?"

I pick my stick up off the ground while I answer,

"I focus on striking my opponent! I sure can't _do_ it worth a shit, though!"

"Dat is because you are focusing on de wrong t'ing."

I cock a brow in confusion,

"Say what?"

Rafiki began to pace in front of me while explaining,

"While focusing on landing blows on your opponent is good, you mainly have to focus on defending _yourself_."

I take in this information and resist the urge to facepalm in realization of my ignorance.

"How could I forget to block!? Sure I was dodging, but I also need to block!"

Rafiki smiled a bit and asked,

"Shall we continue?"

I nod my head and hold up my stick defensively once more with a smirk.

'_I HAVE him this time!'_ I thought.

We both swung our sticks at the same time and they hit each other. This continued about five more times before Rafiki swung his stick at my legs. I hopped over his stick at the last minute and I swung mine at his head while he was distracted. But before it got there, his stick blocked mine.

"What!?" I cried in audible shock. Rafiki cackled in a crazy way and then sent his stick into my head while I was still in my state of shock.

I hit the ground and just laid there for a while.

'_I was SO close! Dammit! Dammit to hell!'_ I angrily thought.

Having now been fed up with all this failure, I stood back up and stomped towards the exit.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Raflki asked me.

''I'm going home!" I huffed.

"Why _is_ dat?" Rafiki asked with a cocked brow, walking up to me. I stopped by the exit and sigh with slight sadness.

"Because... Because I can't _do_ it! I can't fight! I can't even land a single _hit_ on you!" I sigh sadly once again. ''I'm sorry I wasted your time..."

As I turn to leave, Rafiki hits me directly in the head with his stick.

"OW!" I scream. I now turn to him with anger. "WILL YOU STOP FUCKING DOING THAT!?"

Rafiki's response is another whack to my head. I rub it in pain and I mutter,

"Ouch..."

"Rule number one," Raflki started. "you shall _not_ yell and curse at Rafiki!" I stop rubbing my head now.

"Okay, maybe I went a _liiitle_ overboard... "

"Rule two," Rafiki continued, now holding two fingers up. "Never, _ever_ say you 'can't do it'! Because you _can_!"

"Oh boy, you _think_ so?" I sarcastically ask.

Rafiki waves his finger in my face.

"Rafiki doesn't think, Raflki _knows_!" Rafiki now smiled and added, "You just have to _believe_ you can do it. You have to possess deep focus and clear your mind from all other distractions. For one to strike another with de stick, he must first _become_ de stick. Your body and mind must become one with de stick in your grasp. That is de _only_ way!"

I look at him extremely confused as to what he just said, but I reply with a smirk,

"Thanks for the philosophy lesson, Mr. Miyagi." My face turns serious again. "But what do you mean by 'become one with the stick'? That makes absolutely _no_ sense."

Raflki smiled and laughed crazily.

"Just follow my instructions." I nod in acknowledgment and approval. "Okay, close your eyes."

I look at him like he was _crazy_... er, well, he _kind_ of is..

"Close my eyes? But-" I begin to argue before my confusing sensei waved his index finger at me again and reaffirmed,

"Ah ah ah! _No_ buts! Trust Ol' Rafiki. He'll teach you de way."

Seeing he wasn't gonna budge, I shrug and reply,

"Whatever you say." I close my eyes and await his next instruction.

"Okay. Now, get into your fighting stance."

"Okay?" I asked in a confused tone. "With my eyes still shut?"

"Yes. That's it." Raflki replies. I do as he says, not quite sure where he's going with this.

"Very good, Prince Drew. Now what I want you to do is _very_ crucial to your training, so follow my instructions carefully."

I nod with my eyes still shut.

"I want you to think of de bad things that have occurred in your life." I am confused as per usual, but do as he tells me.

I immediately start to see my biological parents, but then they turn into skeletons, signifying that they're dead. The images were _eerily _realistic..

I wince at this and start to tear up a little, as well as sweat in nervousness, beginning to have second thoughts.

"Uh, Rafiki? I don't think-"

"Yes you _can_, Drew! You can conquer your inner demons! Just _fight_ it! Winning de battle in your subconscious is de key to winning a battle in real life."

I had to admit, as crazy as he sounded sometimes, he made a really great point here. If there's nothing to plague my mind with doubt or to distract me, I can put all my focus into winning this battle!

I look at my dead parents' skeletons and try my hardest to make them disappear from my mind. After what must have been _minutes _of intense mental struggling, I eventually see the haunting skeletons of my parents begin to fade away into nothingness.

A small smile comes to my face, proud of my accomplishment,

"I _did_ it!"

Raflki laughs happily and says,

"Keep your eyes closed... _Go_!"

I gasp in shock and say,

"Huh!?" I feel the wind of the stick and the sound of his swing coming towards my head, so I duck to avoid it, all with my eyes _shut_.

Raflki laughed happily once more.

"Dere! You _see_? Much more focused! You avoided my quickest attack with your eyes shut!"

I wanted to widen my eyes in shock, but remembered to keep them closed.

'_I did?'_ I thought.

"Never knew I had it in me... " A smirk of determination spread across my face. "Let's do this." I stated.

Unbeknownst to me, Rafiki widened his eyes at my determination, but then got into a serious fighting stance. He let out a loud screech that monkeys make and started swinging wildly and quickly at me.

I dodge every single one as quick as lightning.

'_How the hell am I doing this? This is the type of shit you see Bruce Lee pull off!'_ I thought with surprise at how I'm faring so far. I hear the wind off his swing above my head, so I roll out of the way.

_WHACK! _

His stick hit the ground hard, leaving him momentarily open. I swing my stick at him but he manages to parry it with his own stick. For the next 30 seconds, it was pretty much a cliché sword fight that you see in those cheesy pirate movies.

Rafiki now pulled that same move that he did before: swinging his stick at my legs. This time, however, I hopped up in the air at the same time that I swung my stick at his face.

_WHACK!_

I felt my stick connect! I finally hit him! Let's not get distracted though, let's finish him off!

I send more swings at him, all of them connecting. Finally, I held it like a baseball bat, swinging it like I was in the final inning of a tied World Series game with two outs.

It was a _hard_ swing!

_BAM!_

I hear Rafiki's stick hit the ground, as well as he, himself. I open my eyes and see Raflki with his eyes closed on the ground.

With a gasp, I thought,

'_Oh no! I didn't hurt him too bad did I!?'_ I rushed over to him and looked him over. Then out of nowhere, he starts laughing maniacally. I could've sworn I felt my _heart_ stop for a brief second!

I flinched and backed up a little bit.

"Hee hee hee! Rafiki knew you could do it!"

Once I recovered from my state of shock, I replied sarcastically,

"Did Raflki _also_ know that he scared the shit outta me?" Rafiki picked up his stick and swung it at my head for the millionth freaking time today! I unfortunately got hit in the head, as I didn't see it coming fast enough.

"Ouch! Would ya cut that out, already?" I asked while rubbing my head. Rafiki cackled and asked,

"You have gotten much better, don't you t'ink?" I thought it over for a second and replied with a smile,

"Yeah, I- I really _have_. Thanks for the training, Rafiki."

"BUT!" Rafiki suddenly exclaimed which startled me. "You still haven't completely mastered de art of fighting. No, you have only just begun!"

I groaned in slight frustration, but shrugged it off. It would be ludicrous to learn how to fight in a single day! But at least now I can sort of defend myself from most impending dangers in the future.

"Alright then. So I'm done for the day?"

Rafiki nodded. "You are free to head home. You've made much progress today, young prince!"

I reach out and give Raflki a friendly hug, which he returns.

"Thank you, Rafiki. See you tomorrow."

"Goodbye, Prince Drew." Rafiki responded with a bow. If my father can be humble, then so can I.

"You can just call me Drew." I said with a kind smile.

"Alright den. See you tomorrow, Drew. Be prepared to be struck by my walking stick!" Rafiki quipped.

I smirked and responded,

"Hmph. You wish!" We both shared a laugh and I finally made my leave, eager to tell my parents of what all I had learned!

* * *

"What do you mean he's _still_ alive!?" Scar yelled at Mabaya and the surviving hyenas in seething rage. He couldn't _believe _they had failed such a simple task, especially with _20 _of them there!

Trembling in fear, Mabaya replied,

"Th- There was a hu- _huge_ lion that aided him! Killed most of our pack!"

Scar's bared teeth soon disappeared, and in its place rose a brow of interest.

"What 'huge lion'?" Scar demanded in frustration.

"H- He was at least three times bigger than _you_! If not _four_ times!"

"Y- Yeah!" Another hyena hesitantly defended. "He was even bigger than _Mufasa_!"

Scar chuckled a little bit at this.

"What a bunch of buffoons you are! You expect me to _believe_ such tall tales?"

Another hyena shook his head and spoke up,

"He's not exaggerating, boss! He was _giant_!"

"Yeah, boss! Go see for yourself!" Another hyena said.

There was silence for a moment. The longer nothing was said, the more that particular hyena regretted his choice of words..

Scar broke the silence by roaring at the hyena, which caused him to quiver in fear as his brothers began to back up.

Scar slinked over to the hyena and demanded of him,

"Just what makes you think you can order _me_ around? Hmm?"

The hyena was still shaking and stuttered out an answer.

"I- I- I can't order you around, b- boss. _You're_ in charge."

"That's what I thought!" Scar said as he walked away from him. Scar then momentarily stopped in his tracks and turned around, "Oh, and don't you forget who the future king will be! Make another mistake like that, and you can kiss your precious scraps of meat _goodbye_!"

The hyena audibly cried out with a yelping sound and pleaded,

"N- No, boss! I'll listen! I _promise_!"

Scar chuckled to himself. "Good."

Scar then slinked off towards the Pridelands' direction while shaking his head. Because of those hyenas, he now had to regroup and come up with a _new _plan..

'_A giant lion, eh? I'll be the judge of that.'_ Scar thought skeptically.

* * *

I made my way towards Pride Rock, looking at the savanna as I did so. I have to admit, I've never really been one to stare at the environment, but I think my whole perspective on the matter has changed quite a lot since I've been here.

I mean, my God! This place is beautiful! Everything about it is truly breathtaking!

It has the most luscious grasslands I've ever seen, many herds of animals that go about their daily lives, as well as a peaceful atmosphere that one can only dream of!

I'm truly glad I can call this place home!

"Drew!" I heard a voice call.

I must have looked over the environment so much, that I didn't notice I was so close to Pride Rock. The voice calling me was my Dad, who came running towards me.

"Hey, Dad!" I called back. He nuzzled me when he made it to me, and I hugged him.

"How did your fighting lessons go?"

I smirked and replied,

"Let's just say that Rafiki is lucky that he's a _healer_."

Dad laughed and with a smirk of his own knowingly responded,

"Surely you didn't beat him on your first try?"

I sighed with a smile and said with my eyes rolled,

"Okay. So maybe he bested me the _first_ million times, but I still made pretty good progress!''

"And that's _good_! I'm very proud of you, Son."

"Thanks, Dad."

"Your mother has been dying to see you lately. Perhaps you should pay her a visit."

''I'll do that. See you around, Dad."

Dad nodded and informed me before we departed,

''I'm going to do my evening rounds and then I'll be home for the night. The hunting party should be back soon with the evening kill."

"Nice! I'm starving after all that training."

Dad laughed and replied,

"I'll bet!"

I finally departed from my conversation with my dad and went into Pride Rock's den to visit my mom.

"Drew! It's so nice to see you!" My Mom greeted with her usual smile.

With a smile of my own, I greeted her.

"Hey, Mom!"

I also saw the lionesses from last time too. Perhaps the pregnant lionesses have to stick together? I mean, they _have_ to be close by now.

"Hey, ladies."

They giggled and simultaneously responded,

"Hi, Drew!"

"So how did your lessons with Rafiki go?"

"Really good!" I answered her, excited to hear her response. "I didn't do so well at first, but I actually managed to knock him down!"

Mom beamed with pride and replied, ,

"Oh that's _wonderful_, Son! You'll be an exceptional fighter and defender before long!"

It felt really good to hear that both my parents were thrilled! However, her sentence brought something to my attention:

Sure, _they _were proud. But what of the rest of the pride? I haven't exactly _done_ much of anything to contribute to the pride! I mean I'm a prince, sure, but why am _I _so lucky? Joe still has to prove himself, so why shouldn't _I_? I wanna at least do _something_ to prove my worth to everyone, because quite frankly, I _love _this place..

"Hey, Mom?" I asked.

"Yes?" Mom recognized my change in tone.

"Do you think that someday, when I'm not busy and master fighting and all that, that I can maybe go on hunts with the lionesses?"

Mom looked surprised at my question, looking back at the rest of her pregnant pride sisters who were present, their only responses being shrugs.

Regardless, Mom turned back around and answered my question nonetheless.

"Well.. I wouldn't have a _problem_ with that, but fighting is _very_ different than hunting. If we allow our prey to escape, there's no guarantee we'll be eating that day.."

I sighed, knowing that she was right,

"I understand.. I just wanna contribute to the pride in some way. That's all.."

Mom stood up and walked up to me, looking up into my eyes with that familiar maternal concern.

"What makes you think that you aren't?" She asks me. I try to think up a response, but am unsure of how to string my words together.

"I.. I don't know." I admitted truthfully. "I guess because I've mostly just been eating the kills without assisting in some way, er, well.. I haven't exactly done anything since I've been here that hasn't benefited anyone except myself-"

"Drew!" Mom cut me off, causing me to flinch in slight surprised. "Don't be _ridiculous_.. My son, it is the _lioness_' jobs to do the hunting.. You are not only not a lioness, but are _male _as well.. We do the hunting, while _you _focus more on royal duties and defense of the Kingdom with your _father_.."

Mom finished with a slight grin, hoping to help me understand I was worth more than I initially thought I was.

"I.. I guess you're right.." I then told Mom, forcing a slight grin.

"I never 'guess', Son.." Mom smirked, before she nuzzled me. "I _know_.."

I returned the embrace from my Mom, before I simply told her softly,

"Thanks.."

The other lionesses who were present couldn't help but smile at the scene. It was clear that they felt the _same _way about me, which was _good_.. However, I just hoped that the _rest _of the pride felt the same way..

I already _know _Scar's opinion on me.. I hadn't seen much of him since the attack, but every time I _did_, he made sure to keep his distance from me..

I couldn't say I really _blamed _Scar.. He was just looking out for the wellbeing of his Kingdom.

Those humans from the time of his Grandfather Mohatu's reign sounded like real _jerks_, anyways!

Suddenly, a surprised yelping sound from Mom startled me a little bit, and I released the embrace.

"What? What is it, Mom? Are you okay!?" I asked with concern.

She then smiled happily, replying,

"Oh, it's nothing bad, my Son. The cub is kicking."

I widened my eyes in shock at this realization.

"Would you like to feel it?" Mom then asked me.

Feel it? I- I don't know what to say! I've actually never _felt_ a baby kick before, let alone a _lion_ cub!

"S- Sure." I spoke, a tiny bit nervous.

My Mom caught onto this however and she giggled.

"The cub won't bite you, silly! Well, not _yet_ anyway!" Mom and the other lionesses laughed at her little joke.

I sighed, unable to resist grinning at Mom's words as well, before slowly, I put my hand on her swollen stomach.

I rubbed it gently for a bit, which caused my Mom to purr. I had to smile at that. I was glad when she was at ease. I waited for a kick to come, and it finally did! I felt something nudge my hand, which I immediately knew to be the cub.

I gasped and took in the feeling of this. What a _feeling_ this was! Just to know that a _life_ was inside there, ready to be born soon, made me feel a little emotional.

I smiled and felt a tear run down my cheek. I've never actually _had_ a sibling before, so this was gonna be _very_ new to me!

I made an oath to myself- no, to the cub!

That oath is that whether it be male or female, I'll protect him or her with my life, no matter the danger, even if it meant _sacrificing_ myself to save it!

And that's what big brothers and sisters are _supposed_ to do, right? Protect their younger siblings? Well, I know for a fact that this future sibling will!

I'm gonna have a sibling!

My God, how exciting this is!

"That was- That was something else!" I said with evident excitement.

The lionesses all laughed and Mom said,

"You'll be a big brother soon, Drew! How does that feel?"

Still excited, I respond,

"Are you kidding? It feels _amazing_! I'm gonna have a brother or sister!"

Mom smiled, before the sound of someone walking inside the den caught my attention.

It was that big lion from earlier. Joe!

Yeah, that's it.

I gotta get used to him. It's such a common name, actually. I have a feeling that I'm gonna be glad having him around!

"Hey, guys! I'm just here to say that the hunting party is back."

"Okay. Thanks, Joe." Mom said.

"No problem, Queen Sarabi.." Joe grinned.

"You go hunting?" I asked Joe, noticing a bit of blood on his muzzle.

"Yep!" Joe answered, licking a bit of the blood off as a joke, which prompted us to laugh a bit.

"I got us all a giant wildebeest." The giant lion continued. "We'll be eating good tonight!"

"And here I thought it was just the lionesses who did the hunting?" I jokingly told Mom, to which she shook her head with a smirk.

"This is something I like to call a 'coincidence'.." Mom sarcastically responded to my statement.

"Oh?" I laughed. "Okay, Mom.. I see how it is! And I suppose if _I _talked smart like that, I'd be grounded, right?" I asked her teasingly.

"Don't push a pregnant lioness' patience, Son.." Mom gave me that 'look' that all Moms give their children sometimes. I, of course, took this as the signal to stop talking..

"Wildebeest huh?" I speak to Joe, deciding to change the subject. With a grin, I add onto my comment, saying,

"Wildebeest is by _far_ the best meat you can eat around here."

"I beg to differ!" Nia countered with a smirk. "I think antelope is by _far_ the best!"

I roll my eyes with a smile and say,

"Okay, okay.. Whatever you say, Nia.."

It wasn't long before I was outside cooking some delicious wildebeest meat on the fire. It was cooked soon enough, and I began to eat, as I had been busy pretty much _all _day!

Crafting spears, not dying by hyenas, going toe to toe with a crazy philosophical monkey in his Tree of Wisdom…

Y'know, normal stuff.

As I began to eat, Joe came over and sat beside me with his own meat.

"Hey, Drew!" Joe greeted.

"Hi, Joe." I returned the greeting before taking another bite. After I swallow the bite of meat, I decided to ask him a question,

"So, what's on the agenda for Joe tomorrow?"

Joe thought for a moment and responded,

"Hunting, I suppose."

"No, I meant during your free time."

Joe thought for a moment, but then shrugged his giant shoulders.

"Hmm.. I don't know. I guess nothing."

I smirked and responded,

"I can change that."

"Really?" Joe asked curiously and interested. "How's that?"

I finally finished my portion of the wildebeest, which filled me up. Standing to my feet, I began to answer Joe,

"We could take a walk around the Pridelands if you want to. It'd be nice to get a lay of the land. I think the _both_ of us pretty much need it."

Joe smiled and responded,

"That sounds great! I've been meaning to grow a bit more familiar with the Pride Lands ever since I got here! I've only heard stories of how beautiful they were, and well.."

Joe looked out into the distance, and towards the sunset which loomed over the grasslands.

"I can see that the stories were true.." Joe finished his statement with a grin.

"Awesome! Once you finish your morning hunt and I finish my training, we'll meet by say, the waterhole? You know where that is?"

Joe nodded. "The lionesses in the hunting party showed me where it was."

"Alright then."

I look on top of Pride Rock and see my parents looking down at me and Joe. It appeared that they _too _were looking at the sunset over the Pride Lands not long before.

It _was_ getting pretty dark, though. The sun had to be like 5 minutes away from completely setting.

"Well, it's getting late. I guess I'll turn in for the night." I told Joe, stretching out my back.

"Same here." Joe nodded his head.

I extinguished the fire that I used to cook my food, and started walking back towards Pride Rock, Joe walking beside me as well.

"Okay, I'll say it.." Joe suddenly said, which caught my attention. "Why did you need that fire to eat your meat? Can't you just eat it raw?"

I smirk at his question and simply respond,

"Oh, man! Do I have a _lot_ to explain to you."

* * *

**End of chapter! Did you like the fighting lessons? How about the OC's? Make sure to review, I really appreciate it! :) Constructive criticism is appreciated. Please review and look out for the next chapter!**


	6. Chapter 6: A Familiar Enemy

**A/N: Hey, guys! So.. yeah. Some news about this chapter. I changed it a **_**lot**_**! XD Not so much the beginning, as I did the end. I drastically improved upon the quality of this one, er well.. I **_**hope **_**I did! I'll leave it for you guys to decide! **

**Jason Chandler: He must **_**be**_**! XD**

**Liam Holman: Thanks, Liam! And ohh, you'd be correct about that! Not only the lionesses, but the major characters will be much more fleshed out! **

**Marcus Graves (Guest): Wha- How'd you know!? XD**

**Daniel's the Man (Guest): Name his spear? Eh, you never know haha! Thanks, man. **

**Jestalnaker94000: Nice! And oh yeah! The GOW 4 voice actor would be a great fit for Joe. :) **

**OneGuyFromEngland: Thank you! And oh yes! Here's you another long chapter. Lol**

**Phenomenal Ultra Instinct: A pretty good estimate! And ah, yeah. Joe's pretty slick! That or his long limbs make him faster by their reach alone. Regardless, he's a very effective hunter! **

**GeminiSparkSX: It was the original story you were thinking of, and thanks! XD I have to agree the improvements made it much better to read. Also yeah I quite like the interactions with him and the pride as well! I plan to flesh them out much more than I did previously!**

* * *

Chapter 6: A Familiar Enemy

"Ouuuch!"

You may be wondering,

_'What's Drew bitching about this time?' _

Oh nothing. I only got my head whacked over and over again with Rafiki's walking stick for the billionth time today! No big deal really.

Though I must admit, I did way better than yesterday. I did more of that 'clear your mind' stuff from before, which seems to help me every time. Rafiki even tells me that eventually, all of those negative thoughts will fade out of existence; but only if I desired it hard enough.

Ugh, I'm done thinking about training today. I now have to meet Joe over by the Waterhole as promised.

I look at my surroundings and see a peaceful, beautiful savanna. The wind starts to blow through my face and I take a deep breath.

"This place is a blessing! I'm sure glad that I found it when I did, or else I probably wouldn't even be living right now." I say to myself.

I'm not usually one to talk to myself, but numerous whacks to the head is liable to cause that. I smile and say,

"This is paradise! Nothing can ruin this moment!" As soon as I finish my sentence, I hear a scream of fear, which sounds feminine. I sigh to myself in frustration. "I just had to open my big mouth!"

I tighten my grip on my spear and run in the direction I heard the scream come from. I hear the scream once more, but louder.

'_I must be close!'_ I thought.

I now hear a lion's roar. A loud lion's roar. Even louder than my father's!

The sounds of fighting are now heard and that's when I finally see the scene before me. I see a lioness whom I haven't seen before, along with a cub in her mouth rushing towards me. I try to defend out of instinct, but immediately realize this isn't a hostile charge, but a charge of escape.

However, the lioness then stops dead in her tracks when she sees me and begins to run away from me.

"AHH! Stay away!" She screams at me, though a little muffled due to the cub in her mouth.

"What the- WAIT!" I try and say, but she keeps on running as fast as her legs can take her.

'_Poor lioness, she's all skinny and dirty Her cub is not much better. But at least she's heading towards Pride Rock. Surely they'll help her. Why in the world did she run away from me like that though?'_ I thought with utmost confusion.

I look at where I hear sounds of fighting and I gasp in utmost shock, along with fear. I see Joe with an aggressive and defensive expression walking towards...

_Holy fuck..._

HUMANS!

These weren't just _any_ humans though. I immediately recognized them to be poachers! I see a total of four of them! Two were Caucasian, one was of African descent, and the other looked to be Hispanic. To my horror, I see one of the men with a gun pointed directly at Joe! None of the four men looked the least bit scared of Joe, despite his towering size.

"JOE! GET OUT OF THE WAY!" I shout desperately. All four poachers jump at the sound of my sudden voice, and a little scared.

"Dammit! It's the Wildlife people!" The Hispanic poacher yelled in annoyance.

"Let's get outta here!" The African poacher exclaimed.

They tried to rush towards their jeep, but Joe pounced on the Hispanic poacher, who screamed in utmost fear. This caused him to drop his weapon.

"Jorge!" One of the poachers yelled.

"No time!" The driver said as he floored the gas pedal, speeding off through the savanna. I made it to Joe as he got done ripping the poacher's jugular out.

He was dead.

My whole body went pale and my mouth was agape. Joe looked at me with a sorrowful expression.

"Did you know him?" I shook my head slowly and replied,

"No… It's just... a little unsettling to see one of my kind die, y'know?" Before Joe could say something back, I added onto my sentence to reassure Joe that I think he did the right thing, despite my still currently shaken demeanor,

"However, he is an example of the bad ones. You were _right_ to defend yourself. Those others were just like him: bad!" I finished with emphasis.

Joe chuckled a little bit which got my attention, along with my curiosity.

"This may seem like a-strange, and well... _inappropriate_ question, but are we supposed to eat him? Y'know, because the Circle Of Life-" I hold my hand up to cut him off, shuddering at the very thought of doing that

"Circle of- _No_! Leave him for the scavengers." I sternly spoke.

I'm sorry, but I wasn't about to eat no _human_! That just wasn't happening!

Joe nodded his head in acknowledgement, a slightly regretful and apologetic grin on his muzzle.

"Heh, right.. Sorry-"

"It's fine.." I reassured, just wanting to change the subject.

I walk over to the once living poacher's weapon and pick it up, observing it. I don't even breathe for a second. Joe walks over towards me and observes it as well, looking at me afterwards with a confused expression.

"Are you okay? And what is that thing you're holding?" I begin to chuckle for several seconds, which kind of makes Joe even more curious, if not weirded out.

"Um-" Joe began to say, but I cut him off.

"Oh. My. _God_!" I said with pure excitement.

"What? What is it?" Joe asked. He looked like he really wanted to know, so I guess I'll tell him.

"Joe my friend, we just stumbled on one of the most badass and _powerful_ weapons this world has to offer!"

"Which is?" Joe said with his eyebrow cocked in confusion.

"This here is an automatic AK-47 with a 30 round magazine already loaded! Or in simpler terms, a gun!"

"Say what now?" Joe questioned, the most confused he's been so far.

With a sigh, I begin to explain it to him,

"See this trigger?" I say as I point at the trigger of the gun, to which Joe nods. "Well, if I pull this down, pieces of metal known as 'bullets' come flying out of this here." I say as I point at the gun barrel.

"This is known as a 'barrel'." I continue on, Joe nodding once more in understanding of what I was explaining to him. "The 'bullets' come out at such high speeds, it can rip through flesh before you can even blink an eye! It can kill pretty much any living thing." I look up at Joe,

"Even _you_, big guy.."

Joe looked kind of mortified at that statement.

"So let's see if I have this right." Joe began. "Basically, you pull that 'trigger', and whatever is in the 'barrel's' way dies?"

"Pretty much. You have to be hit in a critical area, though. Even if you're not, however, you may bleed out if not treated properly." Joe nodded in full understanding.

"So, now that you know how guns work, let's go check back on that lioness from before, shall we?" I chuckled, rubbing my head. Having to explain all that started to make my head hurt, though I figured Joe was even worse for wear. "She ran in Pride Rock's direction." I explained.

"Hmm.." Joe began, trying to piece together the quickest way they could get back home. "Here. Hop on my back! It'll be faster."

Wow! I've never rode on a lion's back before. Let alone with a freaking AK-47! Heh, it would kinda look like an over dramatic movie poster that you see at the movie theaters..

Anyways, I used the gun's sling to put it over my shoulders and I hopped onto Joe's back, him charging towards Pride Rock immediately after.

Unknown to me or Joe, someone was watching us from the shadows the entire time.

* * *

Upon reaching Pride Rock, we saw my Dad who also looked like he got here in a hurry.

I hop off of Joe and rush towards Dad.

"Dad are you-" I began, but Dad cut me off.

''I'm fine.. Zazu informed me of a rogue lioness rushing this way, so I got here as soon as possible."

"Mufasa!" A lioness known as Saida yelled down from on top of Pride Rock, catching our attention.

"The rogue is up here. She wishes to speak with you." Mufasa nodded and me, him, and Joe scaled Pride Rock to where everyone was standing by the den.

"Y-Your Majesty! I wanted to tell you that-" She pauses in fear after seeing me. "H-Hu-HUMAN!"

Her cub begins to cry and whimper in fear, causing me to cringe a little bit. I didn't wanna _scare _them to death..

I began to back up a little bit, just to show that I wasn't gonna hurt them.

"Stop!" Dad roared, attempting to stop this chaos in its tracks. "You're scaring the cub! Now what in Mohatu's name is going on here!?" Dad demanded.

The rogue lioness settled down, which in turn made the cub settle down as well. She sighed and apologized with a bow,

"I apologize your Majesty. I- It's just.. there's a _human_ standing right there! How are you all not scared!?" Everyone in the pride began to laugh aloud, not to make fun of her, but because they already knew who I was and how I acted.

"This is Drew! He is a part of this pride, and even the adopted son of my mate and I." Before Dad could say another word, the rogue gasped aloud.

"W-What!? No offense, Your Majesty but... _why_!?"

Dad turned towards the lioness with a serious expression, though calmly answered,

"Because Drew had no one _left_.. His parents, his friends… Everyone he had ever loved was _gone_." I lowered my head in sadness. His tale was the 100% sad truth.

"I couldn't just kick him out with no one left in his life. Plus he was _injured_! It would've just been barbaric! He looked like he would cause us no harm, either. It's not like he _could _have with his injuries, anyways.. So I figured we would take him in as one our own." Dad continued to explain his case to the lioness, before he briefly faced me,

"He now has loving friends, a _family_, and a place to call home. He has never wronged us, and we will never wrong him. Period. Don't judge an individual based on its entire species. It's not what they are on the outside that you are to judge them by, but on the inside and how they act!"

I am _shocked_! My father is a very wise person indeed. About as wise as Rafiki!

See, _this_ is why I love and respect these lions, as well as everyone in the Pride Lands!

The lioness looked down in guilt and sighed with her eyes shut. She looked back up and towards me with a slight smile.

"You're right, Your Majesty. I- I'm sorry I misjudged you, human."

"Drew. And.. it's fine. You were just looking out for you and your cub." I said with a smile.

"Drew! Right.." She quickly corrected with a nervous chuckle. "Sorry."

"It's okay." I assured her with a friendly grin of my own, just to show that there was no hard feelings.

"So is that what you came to talk to me about?" Dad asked the lioness. The lioness sighed with her ears pinned behind her head, which caused everyone's expressions to fall.

The lioness shook her head and responded,

"No, Your Majesty.. It's- It's something _much_ more serious.

"Please, call me Mufasa." Dad said with his trademark, reassuring grin. He always said this to newcomers of the Pride Lands, as he didn't want his title to define _all _of who he was as a person- lion?

"Yes, Mufasa." The lioness responded in understanding.

"So what is this serious matter?" Mom now chimed in, cocking a brow and standing by her mate. The whole pride looked as if they wanted to know of this lioness' plight as well.

"Wait.." I began thoughtfully, putting a finger on my chin. "Is this about those poachers from earlier?" I guessed.

"If those are the same thing as those four humans from earlier: yes!"

"Luckily Joe was there to save you."

The lioness nodded, glancing over at the giant lion in question

"I _was _lucky.. My cub and I _both_." Everyone turned their attention to the cub, who in turn hid under his mother's legs. At least it _looks_ like a male...

The lioness chuckled over her cubs shyness, before she gratefully spoke,

"We give our thanks, Joe."

Joe shook his head dismissively,

"Oh, there's no need to thank me. I was just helping someone in need. Besides, Drew is the _real_ hero here."

I was?

Everyone looked at me, which made me kind of nervous. What did _I _do?

"How so?" My mom curiously asked, wondering how it was I fought off four members of my own species.

"Did those fighting lessons with Raflki pay off?" My Dad asked me with a smirk and a nudge to my side.

"Heh heh.. Um, _well_.. I-" I nervously stuttered with a slight chuckle, before Joe answered for me,

"Nope! He only had to yell at them and they ran off like a bunch of frightened little cubs!" Joe finished with a laugh.

"Oh really?" Dad asked me with a smirk.

"Well... _yeah_. I yelled at Joe to get out of the way of this thing-" I said while tapping my hand on the AK-47. "-and then they took off in their jeep. Joe managed to kill one of them though. There were four total, which means there's three left."

Everyone stared at the weapon in curiousness, minus the new lioness and her cub, whom could only widen their eyes in fear at the sight of it.

"I- It's that _thing_!" The lioness shouted in fear, though trying to remain calm for her cub. "P- _Please _put that away!"

"What is that?" Nzuri asked as a couple of lionesses try to keep the lioness and her cub comforted. I pull the gun off of my shoulder and put it behind my back with a nervous, toothy grin.

"Heh.. Sorry. I don't mean to scare ya." I apologized.

I quickly explain to them what I explained to Joe, though tried to keep my vocabulary less graphic in front of the lioness and cub, more out of common courtesy than anything..

However, despite my efforts, just as Joe did, the whole pride wore mortified expressions. The cub was shivering in fear at my explanation, still hiding behind his mother's legs.

"Th-That thing won't hurt us will it Mom?" The cub asked, referring to the gun. I kneel down beside him, making sure to put the gun down on the walkway that leads up and down from Pride Rock, so that I don't frighten him any further.

The cub still began to back away a bit, but I still remained calm and soft in appearance, to soothe his fear towards humans at least a little bit.

"Don't be afraid little one.." I began to soothe the cub with a gentle voice. "That gun won't hurt you.. I promise you that."

"R-Really?" The cub asked.

"_Really_.." I replied with a smile, causing the cub to slowly peak his head out from underneath his mother's legs now.

"What's your name?" I asked him. It took him a few seconds, but the cub eventually gathered up enough courage to answer me,

"M- My name is _Malka_. You... _promise_ you aren't like them?" He asked with cautiousness.

"Why, it's nice to meet you, Malka.." I smiled. "And I _promise_ that I am nothing like them. You're _safe_ here." This caused Malka to slightly smile and nod, finally emerging from his hiding place and out into the open now, having gathered enough courage to trust me.

The pride couldn't help but smile at the scene. Just the natural way I spoke to the cub, as well as the way I kept my composure.. It was all really impressive to them, and only reminded them even more why they loved and trusted me as a pride member.

"So, what might your name be?" Dad questioned the rogue lioness, whom looked down at her son with a smile.

With a newfound relaxation, she replied to the King,

"My name is Zainabu. Me, my cub, and-" She stopped mid-sentence, having been reminded why she feared those humans and their guns in the first place.

"Are you.. alright?" Mom asked Zainabu with concern, beginning to approach her. Zainabu shook her head, snapping out of her thoughts, all of which seemed to hold _bitter _memories..

"Oh, yes! I- I'm _sorry_.. Um.. It was me, Malka, and my _mate_.. We were all just simple rogues. We traveled often, moving from one land to the next. All was good for us. Until-"

She then looked like she was trying to fight back tears. Malka nuzzled his mother's legs in an attempt to help soothe her pain.

"Until.. what?" Joe asked rather hesitantly.

"Until the humans came! They used that _'gun'_ or whatever it's called and _killed_ my mate! It was almost instantaneous! I couldn't even _blink_ before it was all over!" Zainabu now started to shed some tears, along with Malka now.

"How I _miss _him so.." Zainabu finished in a broken whisper.

Sympathy was all we and the pride could muster in our expressions. Those bastard _poachers _were the ones responsible for this! _They _are the types of people that give humans a bad name!

No _wonder _Scar seemed so cranky at Dad when I first got here.. This was _terrible_!

Remind me to sincerely apologize to him next time I see him.. I don't wanna give off the impression that I'm _anything _like them!

"I.. am _so_ sorry." Dad told Zainabu, his heart filled with sympathy.

"I- It's fine. I grabbed Malka and ran full speed away from them, but they were right on our trail. That's when Joe stepped in and gave us the opportunity to escape." Zainabu finished her story to everyone.

Zainabu now looked at me and added,

"I ran away from you because I thought you were one of them. I'm sorry.." Zainabu said to me now, still crying.

The pain she felt was _genuine_.. It almost gave me the same vibe of how I felt after the untimely death of my biological parents..

I just _hated _to see anyone have to feel this level of pain.. To feel so alone..

With a breath, I walk up to her rather hesitantly and stop in front of her, her glistening blue eyes looking into mine, unsure of what I was gonna do next.

"_Huh_!?" Zainabu yelped in utmost shock as I embraced her in a supportive manner. Not only her, but Malka, Joe, Mom, Dad, and the entire rest of the pride were taken aback by this sudden action.

"It's going to be alright.. I.. know what it's like to have someone you love the most _taken_ from you so suddenly.." I explain to her, her eyes becoming more watery than before as I finished my sentence. With a sigh, I prepared to release the embrace, not wanting to make things too awkward or uncomfortable for her.

However, I received a surprise of my own when Zainabu actually _returned _the embrace, lying her head onto my shoulder. All I could do in that moment was be there for her, as well as her cub. I smiled down on Malka, whom looked up at me with a small smile of his own.

"It'll be alright.." I repeated, not just for Zainabu, but for Malka as well.

Taking a deep breath, Zainabu released the embrace, which prompted me to do the same. She looked up at me with a genuine smile.

"I.. can't say that I understand why you did that, or why that actually managed to help me feel a bit better, but.." Zainabu and Malka's eyes were still watery, but you could tell their spirits were lifted the slightest bit. "Thank you, human.."

"_Drew_, once again.." I smirked. "But no problem.."

"Heh heh.." Zainabu flashed a toothy grin. "_Drew_.. Sorry. Force of habit."

The pride could only smile at the scene once again. Mom nuzzled my side with a smile, looking genuinely proud of what I had just done for a distraught rogue mother and her young cub..

"Well, I've already wasted enough of everyone's time. Thank you so much for listening, Your Majesties.." Zainabu bowed to Mufasa and Sarabi. "And thank _you _for the encouragement, Drew.. It will be hard, but.. We shall push forward." Zainabu weakly smiled, which I returned in the same manner.

I truly hated to see her and Malka go.. But what could I honestly do?

"Come on, Malka." Zainabu spoke to her son, before they began to leave Pride Rock.

"Now hold on.." The sound of my Dad's voice stops Zainabu in her tracks. This in turn causes Malka to stop as well, confused as to what was going on.

"You're gonna leave us without even staying for dinner?" Dad asked them, subtly hinting that further presence from them would most certainly be welcome.

Zainabu's expression held that of surprise. Shaking her head, she replied with a nervous chuckle, "Oh no, no.. We don't want to be a burden.."

"Nonsense!'' Dad stated. "There's always room for another lioness. Cubs as well. Considering the circumstances, feel free to relish in the safe haven you will find here for as _long _as you wish.." Dad looked off of Pride Rock, and out into the Pride Lands' distance, the sun displaying them beautifully.

"You will only find _peace _in these lands.. No longer will you or your cub have to wander in search of your next meal with the ever present danger of Lion Killers.." Dad finished, obviously using that term to refer to the poachers.

Still shocked, Zainabu stuttered a bit and asked the Lion King,

"B- But I thought only one male was allowed in a pride! Wouldn't Malka have to leave later in life?"

Dad shook his head. "No. Only if he so wishes later on in life.. My grandfather, King Mohatu, outlawed that rule many moons ago. So long as said male doesn't challenge the King for his throne, and contributes to the defense of the pride, he can stay for as long as he desires.. Our pride is a strange but suitable one." He finished with a chuckle.

Zainabu looked down at Malka in thought. She kept his _own _well-being in her mind first and foremost. King Mufasa _was _right.. With the poachers out on the loose, there was still that very possible chance that they would return and try to _kill _them again..

"So, what do you say?" Mom asked Zainabu, snapping her out of her thoughts and causing her to look up. .

Having reached a decision, Zainabu began to answer with a smile,

"Thank you, King Mufasa. Queen-?"

"Sarabi." Mom answered with a smile.

"-Sarabi. I would _love_ that.. As would Malka."

"Yeah. That sounds cool!" Malka exclaimed, full of energy and excitement.

Heh, I think I'm gonna like this kid.

"Well then.." Dad began, motioning to the other lionesses who were present. "Welcome to the pride!"

The lionesses all cheered for the recruitment of their new pride sister and her cub.

"Thank you so much!" Zainabu gratefully told the King and Queen once again. .

"And while I have everyone here.." Dad began with a knowing grin. "Joe?" Dad spoke, getting Joe's attention.

"Yes, Mufasa?" Joe asked, cocking a brow and being sure to stand tall.

"I think you've _more_ than proven yourself to be an official member of this pride. I told you when we first met that I would pass judgement, and I pass it now: Joe, welcome to the pride, my friend!"

Joe smiled perhaps the widest I've _ever_ seen him do before. He was truly overjoyed to hear this news!

"I- I don't know what to say. Thank you!"

With a slight chuckle, Dad could only quip,

"That should do just fine."

"What should we do about those humans, though, Mufasa?" Joe asked the King in a whisper, in order to keep Zainabu or Malka from hearing him. The last thing he wanted was to scare them again. "The 'Lion Killers', I mean? They could still be out there, and might wanna try and hunt my down.. Drew drove 'em off, but they looked _pretty _adamant on killing me.."

"Indeed.." Dad nodded in response, knowing that Joe was right. "Any ideas you wish to propose on how we may stop them? My Grandfather managed to drive them away, but even then, he still just _barely _emerged victorious.. They're your kind, so perhaps you know of a better strategy of how to deal with them?" Dad asked of me.

I was taken aback by the question. I now began to look down, trying to find at least _some _sort of answer within me.

"I.. Uh-" I began, my mind drawing a total blank.

"_Please_, Son.. You may very well be the Pride Lands' hope for survival.. On the chance that they decide to return out of vengeance, they'll likely target the entire _pride_! Half of my Grandfather Mohatu's pride were casualties in their conflict with the humans.. I don't wish for history to repeat itself, _especially _with cubs on the way." My Dad pleaded.

He usually wasn't one to do this, and took charge on essentially _everything_! But when it came to these poachers? It honestly seemed to _shake _him to the core.. And who could _blame _him?

He had a _cub _on the way! Not only that, but there were _other _cubs on the way too! There was simply _too _much at stake..

"I.." I began, taking a deep breath and regaining a determined expression. "I may know how we can drive them off."

Dad and Joe both cocked a brow, the anticipation becoming a bit too much.

"It _will _take some man- well, '_lionpower'_, I guess you could call it.." I pointed out, wanting to make sure it was okay with Dad.

Dad looked _really _hesitant about that idea, but realized he didn't have much of a choice, as no other ideas really stuck out to him,

"Very well.. How many did you have in mind?" Dad asked me.

"Oh, not _too_ many, actually.." I reassured Dad. "Just me, you, Joe, and Scar should do just fine-"

"Wait a minute.." Dad cut me off, looking at me in confusion. "Don't you remember his distrust of humans?"

"That's all behind me now.." I smiled. "I understood where Scar was coming from. He was _just _looking out for the wellbeing of everyone, even if his methods for doing so were.. _severe_." I finished with a laugh.

"You.. _actually _want Scar's help for this mission?" Dad asked of me, legitimately surprised.

"Yeah, why not?" I shrugged. "He's your Brother. He'd surely help out for the Kingdom's sake, right?"

Dad sighed in what surprisingly looked like _sadness_, before he looked at me seriously and answered,

"Drew.. Scar-" Dad drifted off, appearing hesitant, before after another deep breath, he decided to power through it. "-Scar just isn't the same _lion _he once was.. Used to, as cubs, we would play and get along just fine. However, it wasn't _long _after he got that _scar _that his whole _demeanor _and attitude towards me began to _change_.." Dad looked down with his eyes shut, a slight look of regret on his face.

"W- What _happened_?" I asked the Lion King, not wanting to cross any personal boundaries.

"Ever since that day, he was _very _distant.. Scar never lets me live down the fact that our father chose _me _as future King.. He claims that I was the 'favorite', when that was _far _from the truth!" Dad began to get a bit emotional, but nevertheless, continued,

"He always wandered off on his own to walk around the Pride Lands, or when he wasn't doing that, would sulk in his own personal cave that's in the far corner of Pride Rock.."

Dad looked up, before he finished solemnly,

"Something that he still does to this very _day_.."

I just couldn't help but feel bad for Dad right now.. It was evident that he cared for his brother, but just wasn't sure if he felt the same way about him anymore.

I, of course, didn't know the full story when it came to their cubhood, but even still, I offered my suggestion,

"Maybe.. Maybe Scar just wants to spend a bit of time with you?"

Dad looked up at me like I had just spoken gibberish. He cocked a brow, but before he began to question my mindset, I explained my case,

"You say that he claims you were the 'favorite', right? Well.. Maybe, all Scar really wanted was to join you and your Father on those rounds. Maybe he just wanted some time with his Brother, and just felt left out?"

Dad looked down. That _did _make some sort of sense to him.. He had never exactly _asked _Scar if he wanted to go on the morning or evening rounds with him, mainly because he thought he didn't _care _enough to go..

And even when he was a cub, Ahadi simply _wouldn't _allow Scar to go with them, so it was tough back then.

"Perhaps.. you're _right_, Drew." Dad admitted, looking rather guilty. "Maybe the reason Scar sulks all the time is because he feels left _out_.. Because he feels unimportant."

Dad's expression held a newfound determination, as he looked to me and Joe with a slight smirk.

"Let's go speak with Scar.."

"_That's _the spirit, Dad!" I responded with a grin. "If all goes according to plan, these 'Lion Killers' won't _ever _wanna come back!"

"Sounds good to _me_.." Joe smirked.

"Sarabi!" Dad now called over to Mom. "Drew, Joe, and I are going to speak with Scar. We'll be out for awhile."

Mom wasn't sure why on Earth they were going to speak with _Scar _of all lions, but nevertheless, she nuzzled Dad and I on our departure.

"Be _safe_.." Mom told us, to which we internally agreed.

As we began to step down Pride Rock's walkway, I began to look around for my newfound AK-47. My plan _would _require this after all, or at the very least, make it _not _a suicide mission.

However, my eyes widened when I saw that _nothing _was there! It was _gone_!

"What the-" I began, before cutting myself off. I quickly scoped the surrounding area, even looking off the edge to make sure I hadn't dropped it.

However, it would be in vain.. The gun was _nowhere _in sight!

"Coming, Son!?" Dad called out to me from the bottom of Pride Rock. He and Joe were waiting on me.

"Uh.. _coming_!" I called out to him, as I stepped down Pride Rock with a gulp.

'_Not good..' _I thought fearfully to myself.

This 'plan' was definitely gonna get a _lot _more interesting..

We _need _Scar!

* * *

**End of chapter! So we have a new OC added to the mix, as well as Malka, whom you may or may not recognize from the comic, 'Simba's New Brother'. He's different in my story, because he's older than Simba and the cubs in this one, while he isn't in the comic. **

**Also oh **_**man! **_**You guys think Scar'll go for it? Where did Drew's **_**gun **_**go? XD Be sure and look out for next chapter to hopefully find out. **


	7. Chapter 7: Man VS Men

**A/N: *Nervously walks into view* Uh… hi! XD**

**So yeah, I know it's been awhile, guys. So super sorry for the delay! Real life has demanded my attention for sure lol.**

**But as I've said, while updates are definitely not consistent, they are always on the way… I said this story would be finished, and I intend on keeping that promise.**

**But anyways, yeah! How have you guys been? I know a lot has happened since the last update, but I'm curious as to how all of you are in this new year! Sorry if I haven't gotten time to respond to your messages. I have really tried lol. **

**Without further ado, it is my pleasure to announce that: here are the review responses, then the update will officially begin! **

**Jason Chandler: Hmm… not sure! Guess the update will have to answer that one, haha.**

**Marcus Graves (Guest): They certainly have, and yes… Hopefully.**

**Daniel's the Man (Guest): Quite sneaky! XD And thanks so much.**

**Jestalnaker94000: Very true. They will definitely be major additions later on in the story.**

**matthorserider40: Oh yes… Well, Scar is definitely going to be an interesting piece to this story. Definitely who I am looking forward to exploring the most lol.**

**Dinolion92: Much appreciated.**

**DK007: Yeahh XD. I'll admit, the concept is definitely out there, but as you said, it works to a certain degree, and people seem to rather enjoy it. **

**OmniKamiUltraInstinct2020: You've pretty much hit the nail on the head. Many of these questions get answered here.**

**Nicole-GoddessOfLoki: Yes, indeed it does lol. And thank you for the support.**

**Liam Holman: Maybe if we're lucky! XD And I definitely appreciate that.**

**OneGuyFromEngland: Well I really appreciate your support lol. Hopefully this update will live up to your expectations.**

**Oscar Ardon (Guest): Hmm… I dunno, let's find out! **

**AutobotGuy710: Thanks!**

**mpkio2: Thanks so much, my friend!**

**DevaStrophicGuy: And so is your review! :') Much appreciated! **

**Deadmann1: It will definitely be finished. However, I am now taking the time to improve on what the original story was, and really expand upon it.**

** : No problem, man! And thank you.**

**Quan'Darrius (Guest): Your wish has been granted! :) **

**JustAnAverageGuy101: Well wait no longer, my friend! I thank you for the support!**

**Jakarta Pride: Here you are!**

* * *

Chapter 7: Man VS Men

"NOOO!"

You might be wondering- oh who am I kidding, you _are_ wondering,

_'What the hell is going on!?'_

Well, allow me to answer that question. Let's back this up a little bit.

* * *

_Earlier Today_

"Not good, oh my God this is _not _good…" I panted as I ran in the direction that Dad and Joe had gone, a small bead of sweat forming on my forehead, which immediately I wiped away.

It probably didn't help that the duffle bag I was carrying with me was adding on some extra weight to travel around with. It was the bag I had originally brought with me on the flight that ultimately led me to this place when that unfortunate crash occurred…

You might think that carrying it with me was kind of dumb, and… perhaps you'd be right. But I have always been a person who wanted to be prepared for anything. If we were for some reason out there for an extended period of time, I wanted to be sure that I had my water containers, extra clothes, and other necessary items with me.

Unfortunately, with this sudden disappearance of the AK-47 that I had gotten off of that poacher, the plan I had _originally _intended on was going to be a _lot _more difficult!

Mainly because of the fact that I didn't have proper insurance when it came to defending myself in case the poachers proved hostile.

And there was _also _the fact of tracking them down! For all I knew, they could be long gone by now…

But if they were _that _desperate for a prize… chances are they would be back, potentially in greater numbers!

"_There _you are…" The voice of my adoptive father, Mufasa, spoke as I finally caught up. "Come now. Scar's den isn't but right down this path."

"_Right_… Heh." I nervously muttered under my breath, which caused both Dad and Joe to glance back in my direction, cocking a brow.

"Something bothering you, Drew?" Joe questioned of me.

"Bothering me? _Pft_!" I waved my hand in front of me dismissively, forcing a grin. "No _way_! I'm totally ready for this."

Dad and Joe had to look at each _other _now, clearly seeing my attempts to hide my nervousness as strange.

"O..._kay_." Dad couldn't help but laugh. "I would sure hope so. It _is _your plan, after all."

I immediately gulped, looking off to the side.

'_Gee, thanks Dad! That really helps…' _I sarcastically thought to myself, beginning to feel even worse.

With every passing _second _my confidence in this plan was beginning to dwindle.

"_Do not give up!"_

I immediately flinched upon hearing the familiar Swahilian accented voice in my head.

The voice of Rafiki.

I could just _feel _the stick cracking over my skull without it even _happening_…

"_Giving up is not de way, Prince Drew!" _Rafiki's voice echoed. "_Failure is only an option if you allow it to become one…"_

And y'know _what_? The creepy Rafiki voice was _right_! If I didn't believe in myself, then how _else _was I gonna be successful here!?

One might think the sensible option would be to simply ignore the poachers and not put the Pride at risk, but that was just the _thing_:

Firstly, if I simply ignored it, they would only return, and everyone would be at risk all over again… Secondly, it was clear that the Pride, or at least the more senior members of it, were _not _a fan of humans!

It was honestly a _miracle _I was accepted in the way I was!

But with all that _aside_, if I could perhaps lend a voice that they had not been able to before, maybe I could put an end to this conflict between the humans and the lions in this Pride that has spanned _generations_.

Realistically, it just seemed like a few bad apples who were only out to trophy hunt, though. So who knew if they would be in a mind to listen?

They, in theory, _shouldn't _pose any sort of harm to me, because of the laws that society has put in place.

But as I have discovered over the years, humans can be very unpredictable beings…

Whether this plan of talking things over _passively _would work or not, I had absolutely no idea…

But the way I saw it, it was better than resorting to _murder_! They may do some shitty things, but they are human just like me.

Maybe I could talk some sense into them, and utilize those coming along as backup for just in case.

"Here we are." Dad announced, snapping me out of my thoughts.

And sure enough, as I looked down the slope, there sat a small entrance to a cave… The den of _Scar_…

Even though sympathy regarding his story was _there _for him, I still couldn't help but feel a little _nervous _knowing how close I was to Scar.

After all, he had nearly _killed _me the first time we met!

But then again I could understand _why_, so perhaps my fears are misplaced… I'm sure it would be _fine_.

And hell, besides, it was _my _idea to bring him in on this, anyways…

As the three of us dropped down off of the slope, we slowly began to walk out way inside the cave entrance.

I entered with shaky legs, narrowing my eyes a bit to see what was inside. It was a bit cloudy outside right now, so that natural sunlight that usually would have shined in wasn't there.

This made it so that the further in the cave you looked, the darker it was.

Finally, we _did _find him.

"Typical…" Dad muttered under his breath as he shook his head.

Scar was laid down in the middle of the cave, seemingly fast asleep.

"Come on…" Dad sighed. "We'd better not disturb him-"

"_Dad_…" I spoke with a bit of emphasis upon gathering up enough courage. I had to remind him that perhaps change would be a _good _thing.

Dad could only give another sigh, before turning around and walking towards his brother.

Facing the other direction, unbeknownst to me or anyone else, one of Scar's piercing green eyes peeked its way open, before abruptly shutting once more as Mufasa got closer.

Once Dad stood over Scar, he used his paw to lightly bump him.

"Scar…" Mufasa quietly called out. "Scar, wake up."

A few seconds went by, but no response came from Scar.

"Well, that didn't work…" Joe stated the obvious.

"Try doing it louder…" I suggested to Dad, ironically with a whisper.

Dad looked down at Scar, this time with a more stern look, before using his paw to bump him even harder.

"Wake up, Scar!" Dad called out once again, this time with some volume.

This got Scar moving, as he shot his head up almost immediately, looking around to see who had done that.

"What, who's there-" Scar began to ask, before seeing who it was. "Oh… It's only you." He added, before sighing and began to stand up.

"We… were about to go on some important duties regarding the Kingdom…" Dad informed Scar with a frown, trying to ignore his comment. "And Drew thought it'd be a good idea for you to come along-"

I cleared my throat a bit, which caused Dad to quickly add on,

"-As did _I_… It could really be good for you, I would think."

For whatever reason, it looked like there was more to this story and their _relationship _than met the eye…

It appeared that Dad was very _hesitant _in sharing his feelings or any sort of personal involvement with Scar…

What could have _happened_?

"Good for me…" Scar repeated what his brother had said, whilst rolling his eyes. "Like I haven't heard that one before…"

"Well, Scar, wouldn't it beat just sulking in this _den _all day?" Dad argued, before cringing slightly upon stepping on something, afterwards putting on a slight annoyed scowl. "And I have _told _you to keep this den clean! There are scraps and piles of bone _everywhere_!"

I didn't even get involved this time… This was way past my own business. And it appeared that Joe shared my sentiments.

"Yes, well…" Scar began, a rather grim yet oddly sarcastic tone forming in his voice. "Not all of us can be as _perfect _as you, _Brother_…"

Dad's scowl grew even larger, but before he could respond, Scar glanced in my direction.

I widened my eyes when this occurred, really worrying if whether or not Scar was up to attacking me again.

At the very least, I wasn't injured right now and I was with Dad and Joe, so that possibility seemed unlikely.

However, there was just something _about _him that gave me the creeps…

Maybe that was a rude thing to think, but I couldn't help what I _felt_!

"And… this _human _wished that I come along on Kingdom business as well?" Scar chuckled in a rather dismissive tone. "Now I know not of your 'culture' or lack thereof, but I believe I have tried to _kill _you before!" An amused grin formed on the brown lion's muzzle.

Dad and Joe watched Scar closely as he began to circle me, his grin unfading. Meanwhile the whole time I was simply trying to keep my composure, as impossible as it felt.

"Now, that is _strange_!" Scar added onto his earlier comment. "Why would he want someone who nearly cost him his life to join him on business? Unless, of course…"

Dad's eyes widened, understanding what Scar was implying, before he roared,

"That is _ridiculous_! You act as if this is some _revenge _plot from him."

"Well, I'm just _saying_, Mufasa…" Scar shrugged, before looking into my eyes as he finished, "You can _never _be too careful when _they _are involved…"

His very voice sent chills up my spine, but by God's grace, Scar finally walked away from me and created some distance.

"Not to intrude, Your Majesty." Joe spoke towards the entrance to the den, catching all of our attention. "But we probably should leave soon if we're going. They could arrive near here at any time."

"'They'?..." Scar questioned Joe. "And who is 'they' exactly?"

"Humans." I answered Scar, which caused him to glance at me. "It was a few of them earlier, but they could arrive fairly soon depending on how desperate they are to get what they want."

"You speak as though you and them are not the same thing." Scar said.

Dad, Joe, and my eyes all widened at that.

"Wait, wha-"

"Don't play these games…" Scar cut me off with narrowed eyes. "For all we know, you could be leading us directly into a _trap_."

"Scar, honestly now, this is _ridiculous_." Dad shook his head.

"It really isn't." Scar countered. "That is, if you look at it _realistically_."

"_Why _would Drew tell us any of this if he was involved?" Joe gave his own argument.

"Why _wouldn't _he?" Scar returned fire with a cocked brow. "It's the perfect plan, to give those he cares about a…"

Scar looked directly at Mufasa, before finishing,

"_False _sense of security…"

I don't know why, but that statement sent shivers up my spine… More so than _usual_.

"_But_," Scar's tone became a tad more upbeat, which was jarring. "If the Kingdom is truly in need of aid, then I shall join you. Whether my theory is correct or not, there is no need in lying around here when it _could _be in danger."

Dad, for the first time I had seen, actually smiled at what his brother had to say.

"On that, we agree." Dad told him.

Joe and I couldn't help but give a grin of our own. It felt good to have him be on our side as another head, just in case things went south.

"Well then," Dad looked among the group. "there's not a _moment _to lose… Come on."

"I shall join you shortly." Scar told us, stretching out his body. "My limbs are still quite stiff from all that lying around. Shouldn't take but a moment."

We all looked at him for a moment, before Dad nodded in understanding.

"Very well." Dad responded, before motioning his head towards the exit of the cave, taking point in beginning to locate these poachers…

Once Scar made sure we were gone, unbeknownst to us, a small form that was hidden inside a pile of bones finally jumped out, taking some deep breaths as it laid on the den's floor.

"Do you still _have _it?" Scar asked the form, to which it replied,

"Y- _Yes_, Boss." The form responded, which was now confirmed to be a hyena. He used his teeth to pull on the sling of…

An AK-47…

"Excellent." Scar said. "Then as I was going to ask you before we were so _rudely _interrupted by their arrival: I presume that no one at Pride Rock was aware of your presence?"

"No, Boss." The hyena confirmed. "It was my turn going on those scouting missions you set up since that human arrived, and I just happened to spot what it was _carrying_."

"Ah, yes…" Scar nodded, glancing down at the gun. "A human's most effective means of attack."

"Thing is, I don't know what to _do _with it." The hyena admitted. "Almost didn't wanna _touch_ it, considering what the tales tell of what it can do… All I can really reveal is that that thing came off of the other human that the giant lion ripped apart… I followed him and the human back towards Pride Rock, and once I saw an opening… I stealthily took it from right under the human's nose."

The hyena thought some more, before saying,

"And… that's all I really have:"

"You have done _well_…" Scar praised, before going into thought. "It belonged to a human who _died _you say?... Interesting… Most interesting, indeed."

"Uh…" The hyena looked off to the side: "If you say so, Boss."

"I want you to carry it with you." Scar ordered the hyena. "Follow us from behind _without _getting caught, and _if _I give you the signal, then you will _quickly _lay it down inside the container that the human is carrying around with him."

There was a pause, before the hyena stuttered in nervous fright,

"B- But I- What if he-"

"Do _not _question me!" Scar growled, before more calmly adding, "Just _do _it… I assure you, no harm will come to you."

The hyena took a few breaths as he looked down, before looking back up at Scar.

"No problem, Boss. You can count on me!" The hyena hesitantly responded, though tried to remain confident.

"Good…" Scar said as he prepared to walk out of his den. "Oh, and _do _try and keep up… Neither me _nor _Shenzi will tolerate failure… Is that understood?"

"Yes, Boss." The hyena nodded. "Understood."

* * *

"Any luck?" I asked whilst taking some deep breaths.

I never knew until this moment just how tough walking through an African savanna _actually _was. And it certainly didn't help that we were going a fairly long distance with no clear destination in sight.

"Like the first three times…" Scar narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "The answer is _no_."

'_Well jeez… Sorry.' _I thought to myself with slightly widened eyes.

I shouldn't be surprised by Scar's attitude, though. He does get annoyed rather easily.

And besides that, I _will _admit I had asked that question probably a _little _too much… But still!

'_This is insufferable…' _Scar thought with narrowed eyes. '_Let us just hope that the hyena is doing his job correctly…'_

"Wait a sec…" Joe motioned for us to halt, to which we did.

He began to sniff the air, before he looked off a bit to the north.

"That scent…" Joe muttered. "It is the same one from before! They must be close…"

"Oh, thank God…" I muttered as I rubbed my ankles, beginning to really feel the effects of all this walking.

"Then let us move…" Dad instructed, before we shifted our path to the north.

"So, Son…" Dad began. "You have us all here and we are steadily closing in… What is your plan?"

"I…" There was a slight pause, before I took a breath, preparing myself for the response. "I want to try and _talk _to them."

"_What_?" Dad and Joe all asked simultaneously.

"I _told _you the human was suspicious…" Scar pointed out, though his expression appeared rather _calm _still.

"No, but _listen_…" I defended. "I think if I could actually lend a _voice_, one that your species has not been _able _to, then maybe this doesn't _have _to end in violence…"

"And if it _does_?" Dad asked of me, cocking a brow and appearing _rather _serious.

"That's… where _you _guys come in." I meekly admitted.

Saying it out loud, it did kind of seem stupid… Especially considering they had full blown _guns_!

I suppose best case scenario, if things went down violently, Joe is big enough that maybe one of them would drop their weapon during the struggle, and I could capitalize.

Hopefully it never had to _come _to that, though.

"Us three… And you." Dad shook his head in disbelief. "Against the famed weapons of the Lion Killers… It sounds _risky_."

"Yes, I- I know…" I looked down.

"Well hold on a sec." Joe remembered. "You _have _one of their weapons, right? You took it off of that one?"

"I _did_, but I… kind of… _lost _it?" I sheepishly admitted.

"You _lost _it!?" Dad's eyes widened.

"Yes, I _lost _the gun!" I now exclaimed. "I don't know how it happened, but I _did_! I thought maybe it had fallen off of Pride Rock, but no… It just… _vanished_!"

"You mean like 'disappeared'?" Joe smirked, seeing that idea as silly.

"Now not only is he suspicious, but also incompetent as well." Scar muttered in a hiss, appearing even more frustrated than before.

I desperately wanted to argue with Scar, but I… couldn't. As I looked down in shame, I began to think,

'_What if he's right?... What if I just don't know how to keep up with things? Who knows where it actually IS right now!? Someone could get seriously hurt if they stumble across it, not knowing what it was. And if that happens, then I am to blame…'_

Dad's stern expression softened a little bit when he saw my ashamed expression.

"It… will be okay, Son. Let us not dwell on that fact right now. The _important _thing is ultimately driving the Lion Killers out of our Kingdom, and if you are for _certain_ that this plan could work…"

"It _should _work." Scar brought up, ever the skeptic of me. "Otherwise he would not have brought us this _far_, am I correct?"

More and more stress began to stack up upon hearing that statement. As if the situation wasn't frightening _enough _already...

"Come on, guys…" Joe butted in, trying to keep the peace. "Let's just try and stay calm about this. As Drew said, we'll be there in case something happens, but hopefully he can talk some sense into them before that happens. After all, he knows them better than any of _us_ do."

"That's what I'm _afraid _of…" Scar's eyes narrowed as he looked into mine.

Okay, maybe bringing Scar along was my idea, but Jesus… He is one tough _customer_. His thoughts on humans were _definitely_ more set in stone than his brother's. That was pretty clear.

Dad looked as though he wanted to chime in, however-

"Their _scent_…" Joe muttered, sniffing the air. "They are _close_…"

This caught all of our attention, and immediately we were on high alert. Looking around for where they might be, Dad was the first to speak after a few seconds went by,

"_There_…"

All of us looked down the small hill just ahead of us, and sure enough… there they were.

The same jeep… The same three men, from what I could gather…

The poachers all stood outside their jeep, and from what I can see, they were loading their guns. My heart began to pump faster than usual, and to say I was nervous would be a massive understatement.

While we were distracted, Scar glanced behind him at the hyena hiding in some nearby tall grass, before giving a subtle nod.

"This is it, human…" Scar spoke, catching all of our attention.

Scar walked around us, and stood right by the drop on the hill, looking like he was gonna speak some more,

"Regardless of my thoughts on you, my _Brother _trusts you, but more so than that, our Kingdom _is _in peril once more…"

The hyena had silently walked up behind me, Scar distracting our attention away from him, unknown to either of us.

The hyena slowly began to lift the AK-47 up towards the partially zipped open portion of my duffle bag, trying to be very careful not to set anything off.

"And because of this…" Scar added, speaking a but slower this time. "I am willing to put my grievances aside in the effort that this threat can be extinguished…"

Just as Scar finished, the hyena had finished his job, before quietly yet quickly booking it into the nearby tall grass, out of sight.

Dad suddenly began to sniff the air, getting a whiff of something. He narrowed his eyes, appearing very suspicious.

"Something… the _matter_, Mufasa?" Scar asked.

"I smell something… _familiar_. I think it is close, but-"

"Yes, yes I smell it too…" Scar cut him off, beginning to look around a bit. "Hmm… Perhaps it could just be the wind playing tricks on us, though…"

"Besides, we can't let those guys get away." I spoke up, agreeing with Scar with a slight grin.

"For once…" Scar forced a grin of his own. "We can agree."

"Well…" Dad continued to look behind him, not entirely looking convinced. However, he soon gave in. "Perhaps you're right… We need to rid the Kingdom of these Lion Killers first and foremost. We mustn't get too distracted."

"Just whenever you're ready, Drew…" Joe smiled, speaking to me reassuringly, sensing the distress within me. "We'll be waiting right here if you need us…"

I returned the smile, before it immediately was replaced with determination as I looked down the hill once more.

'_Well… here it goes!'_ I thought, taking a deep breath as I began my descent towards them. .

Getting closer, I could confirm that it indeed _was _the same guys from before: the two Caucasians and the African poacher. The Hispanic one from earlier had unfortunately had to be killed by Joe in self defense.

"Damn Wildlife Protection!" One of the Caucasian poachers said, evidently fuming. "They distracted us for a split second, and it cost us not only the biggest prize of our career, but Jorge's _life_!"

The African poacher wiped a tear away from his eye, and the other Caucasian poacher put his hand on his shoulder.

"I know Floyd. I miss him too." He attempted to reassure his friend.

"We all do."

Meanwhile, Dad and the rest finally laid perched in their hiding spots.

"Hopefully Drew can sort this out…" Dad whispered, his own nervousness finally letting itself become known.

"No worries, Mufasa…" Joe reassured. "I'm sure he will do _fine_."

"Let us _hope _you are correct…" Scar commented, his gaze never leaving me, nor the poachers.

I'm but mere _feet_ away from the poachers now, who have their backs still turned to me, not noticing I was there.

They were talking about this guy named 'Jorge' or something. And upon thinking about it a litle bit, that was _probably_ the guy Joe killed to be honest with you, though I'm not entirely sure.

'_Here goes nothing ... ' _I thought, before taking one final breath and making my presence known.

"Uhm… Hello?" I start out.

The three poachers flinched in absolute fright and surprise, looking at me now with their guns pointed out of instinct.

"Hey... Heh heh." I held my hands up in surrender, giving an utterly mortified grin. Being held at gunpoint wasn't exactly _fun_…

"YOU!" The African poacher known as Floyd yells, startling me even further.

Dad and the rest of the group suppressed their growls and prepared to jump out and pounce if it escalated any further.

"You're the one who got Jorge killed! You son of a fucking bit-" Floyd cursed, before one of the Caucasian poachers cut him off.

"Floyd!" This got him to stop talking. "Let me handle this..." He tried to calm him down by placing a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder.

Floyd looked angry still, and was currently the only one still holding the gun up at me. After a few seconds, and some deep breaths, he finally nodded, and lowered his firearm.

This in turn finally made me comfortable enough to lower my hands.

"I can't believe it… They're… calming _down _a bit. Their hostility is lowering…" Dad observed with a whisper.

"Yes, well…" Scar gave a subtle smirk as he spoke. "Let us see how it plays out…"

The first Caucasian cleared his throat and said, "Hello, sir… My name is James Wilkerson."

"Hello, James." I say politely in return.

James pointed his thumb at the other Caucasian and introduced,

"This here is Darren."

Darren waved and I sent a small wave back in return.

James now pointed at Floyd.

"And this is, as you probably heard, Floyd." Floyd sent me a curt nod, and I didn't respond in any way back, out of fear for setting off what was probably a still _very _angry man.

"Now then," James looked at me now with crossed arms. "What's your name kid?"

I cleared my throat and answered him,

"My name is Andrew, though most simply call me 'Drew'."

"Well then, greetings, Drew." James officially and politely greeted.

Well this was just _strange_… These guys appeared really _friendly_, minus Floyd, though for _very _obvious reasons.

How on earth could guys who appeared so friendly on the surface wind up being trophy killers in the heart of Africa's savannas?

"Now on to the question we've all been wondering: What do you want?"

Now the fun _really_ begins...

"Well, to put it bluntly," I nervously began with a sigh. "I want you all to stop what you're doing and go home."

James chuckled and replied,

''I'm afraid we can't do that, kid."

I cocked an eyebrow and asked,

"Oh? And why is that? Is killing African wildlife for profit just something you _enjoy_?"

Instead of James, Darren replied to my question,

"You just wouldn't _get_ it kid! Let's face the facts here for a second: the economy has gone to hell back at home. So us four- well, _three_ now, wanted to make a quick sum of money, really fast!"

"And somehow that makes it _right_?..." I crossed my arms.

"It's not like this was our _first_ option!" James exclaimed, clearly full of genuine emotion. "Hell, I wanted to become a _lawyer_! Darren, here, wanted to be a marine biologist. And old Floyd over there wanted to become a doctor! Now look where we're at!"

There was silence, which left me with a stunned expression, having this information revealed to me.

"Look at us…" James repeated, this time in a mutter of shame. "We're fucking hunting African game in the Serengeti..."

This _really_ shocked me. So… they _didn't_ want to become poachers for the hell of it!?

"So then, what got you to do... well, _this_?" I asked them.

Surprisingly enough, Floyd answered this one,

"The one that died… His name is Jorge. This is actually where he comes into play."

This caught my full attention, as this was where the _cause _of things would come into play.

"Back in school, Jorge was a troubled kid. He was always picking fights, doing drugs, y'know, some pretty bad shit." I nodded while I took this information in from Floyd. "But all three of us became friends with him. He always had our backs, and in return, we always had his. Because of this, we picked up some of his bad behavior, and quite frankly, did things we shouldn't have... That's when our grades started slipping and we were going to fail the school year."

Honestly… that felt pretty relatable. Probably _too _relatable! My _own _best friend that I had graduated with got into that type of shit _bad _towards the end…

Never heard from him ever again after graduation...

Floyd then chuckled, as if reminiscing,

"We didn't give a shit, though… Little did we know, that dumb shit we was doing in school? It costed us _big_ time!" Floyd exclaimed. "Our dream jobs that we mentioned? Yeah well, consider those dreams _shattered_! Anyway, we told Jorge of our problem and he told us that he could _help_."

I nodded, finally putting the pieces together, before saying,

"It was poaching… wasn't it?"

Floyd nodded, before explaining,

"Jorge's father was a poacher, himself, surprisingly enough. He used to deal drugs on the streets of Chicago, our hometown. When the heat from the law started getting too hot, he quit dealing. He instead sold animal hides on this black market somehow connected into Colombia. Ever since then, he was a poacher."

So, because of their _financial _troubles due to the mistakes they made when they were younger… was the reason they felt obligated to do this now.

Holy shit… And here I thought that all poachers just _had _to be terrible people! The thought had never even occurred to me: what if they felt like they had no other choice, or means of escape?

And honestly, I _sympathized _with these men… No, their actions are still _vile _and was far from good, but I could at least see _why _they did what they did now, in a much less bias way than the usual thought of,

'_Well, they're just bad people!'_

"Jorge decided to follow in his father's footsteps, and brought us along with him because we needed it. It paid the bills, so we kept doing it." Floyd looked up, his emotion regarding the story never fading: "All of this because we were ignorant _punks_ who didn't get their schoolwork done! It's complicated as hell, I know. But even throughout _all_ of this, we still loved and respected Jorge like a _brother_... Even though he was, at times, a very troubled man..."

My mouth was agape as he finished. I was honestly lost for _words_ momentarily after trying to absorb all of this information.

"That's- That's quite a _story_." Was all I could say after that.

All three of them nodded.

"We were thinking of quitting, _anyway_." James sighed. "We just need enough money to buy plane tickets back to the States." James said.

"It's expensive as hell, though! It's highway _robbery_ I tell you! Damn airline industry... " Darren muttered the last sentence.

James sighed and said,

"Look, kid, we'll _leave_. I understand, yet also admire your passion for these animals. Whether you're a Warden for the Wildlife Protective Services or not, we just hope that you can forgive us… Enough senseless killing has been committed already. We'll find a way home."

Dad smiled, looking over at Scar and Joe, before he said,

"He- He might have _done_ it! Already they look ready to leave!"

"Attaboy, Drew…" Joe chuckled.

Scar, however, was not as pleased.

'_I don't understand! They should have noticed by now! I swear, if that mangy hyena messed this up, I'll-' _Scar thought, before he immediately snapped out of them, seeing a shift in demeanor down below.

Floyd looked like he was staring _intently_ at something. Something close to me.

"What?" I asked in confusion, turning around and looking behind me.

As my back faced them, they all three gasped in shock, upon seeing what was sticking out of my bag.

"It- Is that-" Darren widened his eyes, knowing straight away what it was.

"What?" I asked them in confusion, turning back to face them. "Was there something behind me? I didn't see-"

"You…" Floyd began, before his anger was suddenly released, "You goddamn _LIAR_!"

This caused me to jump back, my eyes widened in fright.

"What- What's going on-" I attempted to ask them, before Floyd cut me off,

"Don't you play _dumb_, you son of a _bitch_!" Floyd began to inch closer towards me, with the other two doing nothing to stop it.

Finally, I tripped backwards, which caused me to drop my bag. And as it hit the ground, what cane out was-

"The… The _gun_!" I widened my eyes.

"You sound _so _surprised!" Floyd yelled, before snatching the gun up off the ground, examining it.

"That's his, alright... " James confirmed, him and Darren approaching as well. "That's Jorge's gun. Same indention on it and everything."

"Oh no... " Joe's face fell, his tone of voice full of concern.

Scar could only smirk at the scene below, his plan falling into place _perfectly_…

Dad began to growl, before ordering,

"Come on! We're going down there."

Joe didn't argue, as he followed right behind Mufasa as quietly as possible.

As Scar got one final look at the chaos about to ensue, he followed right behind them, though at a satisfactory distance apart.

"I- I can _explain_-" I began to plead, but was cut off by Floyd,

"Don't you 'what?' me you son of a bitch! Here we thought you were an actual _good_ citizen who was actually concerned about other people and animals!"

"What? I _am_!" I widened my eyes in fear.

"_Bullshit_!"

_POW!_

As Floyd said that, he landed a clean right hand directly into my face, which sent me to the ground.

"_Floyd_!" James tried to hold him back. "He's just a _kid_! You can't _do _this-"

"The hell I can't!" Floyd yelled, before turning to face James and Darren. "Don't you _see_? He was _there _when Jorge was ripped apart by that _beast_! He probably lured the lion in our direction, and distracted us at _just _the right time… He knew what to _do_!"

"Come on, Floyd…" Darren spoke softly now. "Don't do something you gonna regret, man… Jorge would want you to move on with your _life_… Don't throw it away because of some _punk _kid!"

Floyd took some deep breaths, looking down at my still defenseless form. I could see in his face that he was conflicted.

"I- I don't-"

_ROAR!_

Floyd was cut off by a lion's roar, which caused them all to flinch. I widened my own eyes, knowing what was coming.

"Oh- Oh no…" I muttered, as out of the tall grass, Darren was tackled to the ground by Joe, who began to rip him limb from limb.

"AGH! AGHH!" Darren screamed as he was being mauled.

"J- Joe!" I tried to call out, but the sound of a gunshot drowned out my voice.

It had come from James, who fired his weapon in Dad's direction. Unfortunately for him, he _missed_.

And what followed, was another vicious mauling at the hands of a lion…

But there was still one _left_…

And that's when I saw it!

Floyd had his gun pointed _directly _at Dad, ready to pull the trigger.

"_No_!" I exclaimed, trying to quickly get to my feet once more, though I knew I would never reach him in time…

However, probably remembering our earlier conversation of what guns did, Joe widened his eyes when he saw Mufasa in prime position to be killed.

Not even uttering a word, Joe used his giant legs to _leap _his way in front of Dad, just as Floyd pulled the trigger…

_BAM!_

It was a direct hit…

"NOOO!" I shouted with tears now in my eyes, immediately scared for my friend's life.

Whether the hit was in a critical area or not remained to be seen, but it _sure_ took him the fuck down!

Through this panic, unbeknownst to any of us, Scar used his paw to trip Mufasa's feet out from under him as he was distracted by the gunshot.

He saw this as a _prime _opportunity, since the human Mufasa was mauling, James, was still barely alive. So perhaps James had decided to fight back…

Through my tears, I could see that Floyd wasn't done _yet_! He now aimed the gun directly at the now downed Mufasa, who I assumed had tripped somehow.

Scar watched on with widened eyes, now standing off to the side. I assumed that he was _also _taken aback by the first gunshot…

Determined to help my adoptive father, something in me just… took _hold_.

I went from fear, to determined _rage_! I picked the AK-47 off of the ground, and aimed it directly at Floyd's chest.

Floyd caught this out of the corner of his eye, and he turned around with wide eyes.

Second thoughts _immediately _started to take hold…

What was I _doing_? I- I couldn't _kill _someone! This was a human _being_…

But he tried to kill Mufasa as well! But that's also no excuse for murder!

I honestly didn't know what to do…

Out of fear for his own life, however, Floyd turned his gun on me…

That was all it took for me to make my decision…

_BLAM!_

I did it.

I... pulled the _trigger_.

I saw Floyd's still stunned face, along with a fatal looking wound right in the middle of his chest. The bullet went straight through him, leaving a hole in his body, along with his heart.

That's when everything hit me at once.

"W- What have I _done_!?" I yelled aloud, before rushing to Floyd's aid, who was slumping down to the ground by this point.

Floyd looked up at me, his gun now laying beside him. He was taking some labored breaths, as he simply stared with little energy left.

"Floyd, I-" A tear fell down my cheek. "-I'm so _sorry_! I meant it! I meant every _word_! I didn't steal your friend's gun because I was a _thief_! I'm out here! Out here trying to _survive_… You were the first humans I've seen in _months_!"

Floyd took some more breaths, before suddenly, he grasped my hand.

Another tear fell down my cheek, as I wondered what he was about to say,

"B- _Bury _us… W- Would ya?..." Floyd then gave a violent cough, blood coming out onto his chin. "J- Jorge _especially_… He was a good… _man_-"

Floyd unknowingly took his final breath in that moment, and he now lost all control in his body…

He… was _gone _now.

I continued to grasp onto his hand, burying my head into it with closed eyes of sadness.

"What a _waste_!" I eventually. muttered through tears.

Dad looked on at the scene, a sorrowful look in his eyes as well. He knew that they would have tried to kill them out of defense for themselves, but now…

Mufasa could at least _see _now that not all humans, even those out to kill them, were horrible people. While their actions, to him, were unforgivable, he at least saw some _good _in him in those final moments.

It was very eye opening, to say the least…

Finally standing back up, and looking down one last time at Floyd, Drew asked,

"Are… Are any of them still alive?"

Dad and Scar looked at the other two, before immediately shaking their heads with a frown.

It had seemed that James ultimately passed on as well, whilst Darren had died quite awhile ago…

What a WASTE, man!

This _could _have gone differently, but NO!

Where had that gun even _come _from!? I'm not _that _blind, am I!?

Scar looked on at the scene with a frown, though what he was thinking, I didn't know.

"You all did what you were supposed to…" I sadly uttered, before looking at Scar. "Even you, Scar… Though you might not like me, I… hope that _one _day I can win your trust…"

Scar looked at me for a moment, before finally he responded,

"I highly doubt that… But," Scar looked to the side in silence. "Perhaps you have proven, at least _somewhat_, that you are not actively out to kill us…"

I looked at Scar in silence, internally just accepting that as a small victory. It was _progress_, at least.

My attention now immediately shifted to Joe, who was still lying on the ground with an injury.

The mighty lion was currently passed out, but after searching for a heartbeat, was luckily not _dead_.

"He wasn't shot anywhere critical…" I sighed in relief, finding the bullethole was on his shoulder. "So _that's _a relief."

"If he isn't properly treated at Rafiki's Tree, however, he could _die_…" Dad reminded.

"And how do you suggest we _move _a lion of that size, _anyway_!?" Scar cocked a brow. "If you're gonna ask me to drag him, then that isn't happening!"

I looked down, knowing that Scar was right. There was no way in _hell _that we were dragging him that far…

However, my eyes suddenly landed on the nearby jeep, my eyes immediately beaming in that moment,

"I… _might _have an idea." I said, before telling them, "Dad, Scar, we need to get the Pride over here _immediately_. There might be a way we can all get him over there, _without _killing ourselves in the process…"

* * *

**End of chapter! So Drew has killed a man! He feels guilty about it, but will this guilt affect him later on? Will Joe be alright? Tune in next time and find out! I know, I'm evil aren't I? Constructive criticism is appreciated. Please review and look out for the next chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8: Unexpected Visitor

**A/N: Oh, **_**man**_**! Has it been forever since this story has seen an update! Apologies for that, by the way lol. But now, it has finally**

**returned!**

**I hope to update this on a more regular basis now, so you won't have to wait so long between chapters. I appreciate the support as always, and hope you will like this next installment!**

**Major props to Liam Holman for assisting me in the editing/proofreading of this new chapter. He has an account under the same name, as well as a currently ongoing rewrite for his story! Be sure and check him out. **

**Jason Chandler - That it did… This chapter goes a bit more into it.**

**Marcus Graves (Guest) - Man, I 100% agree with those sentiments! It was mainly to put a new spin onto the poachers. Instead of having them be generic bad guys, I wanted to how that they were still human, and that certain hardships may have led them to doing bad things.**

**Dinolion92 - Ikr? Lol. Ya just never know what Scar is gonna do!**

**Daniel's the Man (Guest) - Definitely not. And thanks!**

**Jestalnaker94000 - You know, you make a very interesting point lol. I think your insight will prove rather useful in this chapter XD**

**Liam Holman - Thank you! And oh, you know it lol. Appreciate the help here, today!**

**Frozen Wolf heart 22 - Oh yeahhh! I remember you! It is good to hear from you again. I appreciate your ongoing support. It does mean a lot. **

**GeminiSparkSX - Hey, man. I really appreciate that. I hope that it will continue to impress! Always good hearing from you.**

**vburro08 - Hahaha, oh no XD That Rafiki will always get ya! And oh yes, I certainly have potential plans for that hyena in the future. **

**Interstate2011 - Thanks, the country, and no.**

**erica phoenix16 - Such a mixture of emotions! XD Idk whether to be happy or sad**

**Paul Crew - You are **_**also **_**epic! Thanks, man. Really means a lot! **

**DoctorPony - Ask and you shall receive.**

* * *

Chapter 8: Unexpected Visitor

Inside the lone baobab tree, Rafiki was inside painting on the walls. Rafiki just got done finishing up some paintings of Zainabu and Malka, adding them to the Pride Rock 'family tree' since they were technically now 'official' members of the pride.

Raflki chuckles at his work, saying,

"Oh Ahadi, the Pridelands are flourishing tremendously! De pride continues to grow, gaining members ever stronger and trustworthy as de days go by!" Rafiki dips his fingers into some more paint, before adding, "Now to add Joe to de tree."

The wind started to pick up tremendously, before the breeze knocked two of Raflki's paint containers off of the shelves above. One container spilled paint right beside Drew's illustration, and the other below it.

Rafiki looked at this and gasped.

"What are you trying to say, Ahadi?" Rafiki put his hand to his ear, the wind blowing directly into his ear, somehow communicating with him.

Rafiki gasped once more and stood there in silence for a few seconds.

"Drew... have a mate? _And _a cub!?" Rafiki paced around his tree for a few more seconds and continued, "Are you _positive_, Ahadi?"

The wind blew directly on him once more to give its answer, Rafiki cackling aloud soon afterwards, finally once more gazing upon the family tree,

"De family will truly be complete! But two questions: Who, and how?"

The wind didn't blow back this time. Rafiki sighed and shook his head.

"Always leaving me to find things out on my own, eh Ahadi?" The mandrill jested.

This time, a voice from the clouds faintly spoke to Rafiki in a teasing manner, himself. It was Ahadi.

_"Consider this payback for all those times you've done similar things to me." _

The voice sounded ghoulish and echoey, yet at the same time held much wisdom and resolve.

Raflki smiled and shook his head, before holding a finger to his chin in thought. Before he could think of any possibilities, he heard the strangest sound he had ever heard in his life…

Cocking an eyebrow in confusion, Rafiki exited his tree to see what was going on.

What he saw upon emerging was this... strange looking metal beast with rolling limbs.

"What in de Great Kings?" Rafiki questioned with a sense of curiosity, as well as cautiousness.

Rafiki squinted his eyes, catching a rather familiar glimpse…

Could that be?...

"Drew!?" Rafiki questioned, now wide eyed.

"Rafiki!" I shouted back.

Rafiki rushed towards me with that blasted stick, causing me to hit the brakes.

When at last Rafiki made it to the stopped jeep, he started to- oh fuck!

"Hey hey hey! _Stop_!" I shout at Rafiki.

Raflki temporarily pauses what he is doing, cocking a brow of confusion my way, as he looks from his stick, to the jeep.

"So, you _weren't_ in danger?"

"What- I… _No_!" I had to chuckle aloud. It was honestly quite ridiculous, the concept of the jeep directly causing me any harm as if it was alive.

However, I had to remember… things were far different out here, so how were they to know?

I exit the driver's seat of the vehicle, shutting the door behind me as I go to inspect the hood.

Unsurprisingly, it now had a small dent in it.

"Oh great-" I begin ranting in slight frustration, before putting my hands on my hips.

"Do ya _have_ to hit every fucking thing you see-"

_BONK!_

"Yes." Rafiki couldn't help but cackle, as I once again rubbed my head in annoyance.

"So I see…" I muttered, as we both looked at the jeep once again.

"So den what _is_ it?" Rafiki had to wonder. "I have a wide variety of knowledge, dear Prince. But neva in my life have I eva seen anyting like dis before…"

"It's a jeep." I bluntly explained. "It gets me to places quicker. I got it from the poachers. They-"

I had to sigh, looking away out of guilt.

"-They're dead now..."

"Ahh, I see…" Rafiki had to slowly nod. "And dis… _upsets _you?"

"Well, I- Yes and _no_." I answered, not quite sure how to put it. "I know what they did was _bad_, and I don't justify such actions… Father has mentioned how feared the legend of the 'Lion Killers' are, which are humans like them."

I shook my head.

"But… they're still my own kind… I- I was forced to take one of their lives, to protect a friend."

"Ah, so it was not in _vain_…" Rafiki observed.

"Well, that's _true_." I replied. "But I sure wish I didn't _have _to do that…"

"Prince Drew, I undastand why dis may hurt you…" Rafiki spoke gently. "Your past life, it… sounded very _different _den da one you live now. You have a stronger sense of morals…"

"Right." I nodded.

"And while dis action may hurt now…" Rafiki looked to Joe, who was in the back of the jeep, already piecing together that he was that 'friend'. "In time, you will realize dat it was for de greater good… It wasn't the most welcome option, but you have potentially saved Joe's _life_. And dat is something to be proud of."

I looked over at Joe as well, who by this point had slipped into unconsciousness, before I took a deep breath, fighting back the urge to shed a tear.

My emotions were simply going crazy right now… It was _odd_, remembering how I had lived for many years under human society's banner, compared to now, where it was survival of the fittest almost.

No, I wish I didn't have to kill that man… but I at least realize now that it… was not pointless.

"You are right, Rafiki…" I smiled. "Thank you."

"Dere is no need to tink me, Prince." Rafiki returned the gesture. "Ol' Rafiki will always be dere for de King and Queen's family. As he always has been."

Both of us now walking around to behind the jeep, we saw that the rope I had tied around Joe to keep him strapped down on the ride over here, had _mostly _held up.

"Before you ask, no, I did not want to do this." I shook my head. "But none of us were able to really pick him up, so… this was the best we could do."

"Hmm…" Rafiki stroked his chin in thought. "Well, this a most odd case. Neva have I performed healing on one as big as he. It will require a healthy _elephant _to lift him into my tree."

"Jeez…" I muttered. That sure was one big lion, when it took an entire elephant to move him!

Rafiki turned around, looking like he was preparing to reenter his tree.

"I shall gatha de necessary materials… I will assist Joe outside for now and clean de wound. Afterward, I will travel to de elephant territory so I can move him inside and finish my treatment."

I nodded in understanding, as Rafiki slipped back into his tree.

Untying the rope straps, Joe now slowly slumped to the ground, still very much out of it.

I sighed, before tossing the rope into the back of the bloodsoaked jeep. That gunshot wound he suffered indeed looked _nasty_.

I just… hoped that he would turn out okay...

"Drew!" I hear Dad yell from a short distance away. He and the three lionesses known as Amira, Kamili, and Saida ran as fast as they could over to me and the unconscious Joe.

"Hey, Dad." I greeted Mufasa, also giving a nod towards the three lionesses. "Ladies."

"What did Rafiki tell you?" Dad questioned me, looking down at Joe's form.

"Well, he-"

"Okay, I will need time to work, so- Oh, greetings my King!" Rafiki gave a warm greeting upon seeing Mufasa, holding the necessary materials he would need in his hands.

"Rafiki…" Dad gave a smile of his own, before taking a step back upon seeing the mandrill inspect the gunshot wound. "We will be back to visit later. We don't wish to impede your work."

"Alright, King Mufasa." Rafiki nodded, still laser focused on Joe. "Come back soon, you hear? Bye bye now."

I had to cock a brow as they each began to walk away. Perhaps… Rafiki was very focused when it came to his healing.

Which honestly I didn't blame him for. In a situation as dire as this, distractions definitely weren't needed.

Entering the jeep once again, I started the engine, before driving off into the savanna dead ahead, riding alongside Dad and the three lionesses.

"I see Rafiki… is serious about what he does." I had to comment with a chuckle, Dad nodding in response.

"Indeed he is." He now looked my direction. "He is the best shaman the Pride Lands has ever seen. And he is also a dear family friend…"

I could only grin in response, though said nothing else for a bit.

It would be Mufasa who would break the silence once again,

"What are you going to do while Raflki works on Joe?"

I rubbed my fingers through my beard, which honestly was beginning to come in really _fast_, before thinking,

'_I really should shave this thing off…'_

''I'm gonna get some things from my bag at Pride Rock and then go to the Waterhole for a while." I finally responded to his question.

"Okay, Son. Just be careful. You remember what happened last time you tried to go to the Waterhole..."

"I know, Dad." I knowingly replied, though I still appreciated the concern he held for me...

Before we parted ways, he turned to me once more, speaking,

"Oh, and Son?"

"Yeah, Dad?" I questioned, very curious now.

Had something else gone down?

Mufasa smirked, before commenting

"Nice mane. It's about time it came in."

My eyes widened, before my fingers ran through my beard.

'_My mane? What is he- Does he mean this!? Oh… my God. That's… actually kind of hilarious.'_

As I smirked in return at how funny the comparison was, Dad then winked, before running away with the three lionesses from earlier, who had to giggle at the comment themselves.

It appeared they were taking an alternative route back to Pride Rock…

Oh well, leave it to me to be boring and traditional I guess. There was a straightforward path, so I was gonna take it.

I didn't wanna rough the jeep up _too _bad, after all. Rafiki had already done that for me.

I couldn't help but chuckle internally about that, thinking back to the dent he had made.

'_Man, honestly? It's a good thing I'm not in human society anymore. Insurance would be on my ass about this! They'd tell me why they 'couldn't cover this' or 'couldn't cover that'. Knowing them...'_

And yeah, sure, there are things that I would _never_ miss about living in a human society.

But what about the things that I _would_ miss?

What would I do to have children? Have a wife? That type of thing?

I sighed, while I shook my head.

"Perhaps fate never intended that to happen... "

I zoomed past a herd of zebra, seemingly in the home stretch. Pride Rock was still quite the distance away, but I could at least make out its form on the horizon.

However, little did I know at the time, fate was gonna be one unpredictable son of a bitch!

Driving further through the savanna, I took in the atmosphere once more, this time on a grander scale. The zebra grazing in the grassland was now in my rearview mirror, as my sight now saw some hippos bathing in some nearby water to get out of the heat.

Not that I could blame them… It _was _pretty freaking hot out today.

I glanced towards the sun, which was beginning to set for the day, before smiling. I just _had _to reflect once more on just how lucky I was being here.

This was definitely a sight that you didn't see every day in most of the world. It was just _beautiful_!

Exhaling, I felt rather content, prepared to eat the final meal of the day before heading off to sleep. Today had definitely been an exhausting one to say the least...

However, through the sounds of the jeep's roaring engine, I heard something else...

_Mew!_

I slammed on the brakes immediately, my eyes widening in surprise.

I wasn't about to _hit _something, was I!?

Upon making a sudden stop, I turned the engine off, listening for the noise again. After waiting for several seconds, I began to shrug.

"Huh…" I spoke in confusion.

Maybe I was just hearing things.

Before I could start the engines once more, however, I _did _manage to hear the same sound from earlier, this time _louder_.

_MEW!_

"What the..."

I had to admit, I was curious now...

It sounded kind of like a cat. But, not a _grown _cat or anything; a _kitten_!

"There can't be any domestic kittens out here in the African wilderness, though? No way… I have to investigate!"

With that, I exited the jeep and followed the sounds of this 'kitten'. My search eventually led me to a bush... which-

"Holy shit…" I breathed, shaking my head. "What is this?"

The bush was coated in blood… Which I mean, it wasn't too uncommon to see blood out here after a predator had made a fresh hunt, but something about this made me feel… _uneasy_.

Was I about to regret what I was about to find?

I took a final breath, before immediately pulling aside the leaves on the bush.

What I saw made my entire body run _cold_.

A lioness… who I had never seen in my entire life, _dead_...

She looked to have been _eaten_ on some parts of her body.

This was… simply not _right_! If it was the result of a fight, then she shouldn't have been eaten on this much! If it _was _for a desperate bite of food, then it just didn't make sense to nibble on her then hide her inside a _bush_!

This just wasn't adding up at all...

Hiding her in this bush meant that _someone_ tried to hide this and cover it up! There was no other reason that made any logical sense.

But as if things couldn't get any worse, this wasn't _all_! Nope!

There was a _lion_ cub with a golden brown pelt and blue eyes, still alive and looking to be unharmed. It was trying desperately to get milk from its dead mother, but it would be in vain…

I began to tear up over this sight. That poor cub…

It didn't even know that its mother was dead...

The cub looked up at me now, before tilting its head at me.

"Mew?" the cub asks me.

Of course I didn't understand what that even meant, as one obviously wouldn't.

But, in response, I knelt down beside the cub, giving a gentle,

"Hi there, little one..."

The cub crawls its way over to me and begins sniffing me, learning my scent. It now looks back up at me before vocalizing again,

"Mew."

After doing that, it nuzzled my leg while purring.

I couldn't help but smile, and began to pet the cub, stroking its fur. This prompts it to purr even louder, feeling content and protected.

I lost my smile just seconds later, before I began to think seriously,

'_I can't leave this cub out here alone! I have to take it back to Pride Rock! Whether it's a male or female remains to be seen.'_

I cautiously pick up the cub, which made it whimper in curiousness and slight fear.

"Shh… It's okay. You'll be okay..." I attempted to console the cub.

I got back into my driver's seat, placing the cub in my lap so that it wouldn't fall.

Starting the engine back up, I sped the rest of the way towards Pride Rock.

* * *

"My goodness!" Sarafina gasped, which was her response of my recollection on what had just happened.

"Poor thing!" Nzuri exclaimed now, the usual smile on her muzzle now replaced with a frown...

"Mufasa, what do you think about this?" My adoptive mother, Sarabi, asked Mufasa.

Dad shook his head in disgust at what had happened to this poor cub, before replying,

"I think we need to find out who did this. Their crimes must _not_ go unpunished!"

"What if it was those humans from before?" Aasha asked.

My mind flashed back to those moments, back when the poachers had died, one of them by _my _hand.

The image of Floyd's lifeless body lying there was all too clear to me… I knew full well that it couldn't have been them…

"It was too fresh a kill…" I informed. "It couldn't have been them. And besides, they're dead, anyway."

Some of the pride began to murmur amongst themselves. I wasn't stupid… I knew some of them still didn't quite trust me.

Which was expected, I suppose. I mean, it wasn't every day that a human was so quickly accepted into a pride, let alone at _all_.

Especially when my kind had such a bad reputation.

'_I will go back to where they lay tonight before the scavengers get them… I promised them a proper burial, so I can at least grant them that…' _I thought to myself, as the topic appeared to change once again.

"-And even with that said, that still doesn't answer who will adopt this poor cub?" Nzuri questioned. "It can't just go without someone to care for it!"

"That's a very good question." Mom agreed.

"'_She'_, by the way." Sarafina said with a smirk.

'_Ah, a female! Well at least now we have that question out of the way…' _I mused.

I then chuckled inwardly to myself, petting the cub who was still in my arms, fast asleep while the pride and I kept discussing the issue.

"So, who is willing to take her in?" Dad asked the pride as a whole, restating the question.

The pride glanced among one another and no one spoke up straight away. There were many lionesses who were pregnant already, however, some who also weren't.

Before a proper decision could be made, the sun's rays then focused itself dead center onto me and the cub, which… for some reason, prompted the pride to gasp in shock.

"Uhmm… What?" I asked, pretty confused.

Dad replied with a grin on his muzzle. "The Great Kings have chosen _for_ us!"

Still absolutely puzzled, Mom decided to make things more clear for me,

"Drew, you are to be the _father_ to this cub."

"Yeah, okay. I can-" Just then my mother's words finally clicked in my brain. "Wait, _what_!?"

"Drew-" Dad tried to speak, as I nervously asked another question,

"Great Kings? What in the world is that-"

"_Drew_…" Dad spoke more firmly, now catching my attention. He took a breath. "You still have a lot to learn, my son…I'll tell you later tonight. For now, all you need to know is that you are a father! Congratulations, Son. Looks like I'm a Grandfather now!" He ended in a jest.

Sarabi gasped, before commenting,

"I haven't even given birth to my _first_ born cub and I'm already a _Grandmother_-"

She had to pause.

"How does... that even work?"

"Woah woah woah." I stopped everyone, sweating in a panic. "And who said I was gonna adopt this cub, anyway?"

"The Great Kings Of The Past." Dad answered sarcastically.

"Oh, ha _ha_\- I mean what if I don't _want_ to adopt her? What if I feel like I'm not ready?" I made the question more clear.

"Son," Dad began. "you have to understand, this is a _great _honor! When the Great Kings themselves choose you for an important milestone in a situation such as this, believe me, you're ready."

I absorbed those words, but still wasn't totally buying all that… I then looked down, gazing at the still sleeping cub once again. As I did so, Dad continued,

"It means that it was your _destiny_ to do this. To change this young cub's life for the better. You are the one who gets to raise her. You will get to watch her grow up into a strong, vibrant lioness. You-" Dad stopped and looked up into the sky with the wind blowing through his mane. He took a deep breath, finishing,

"-You will be her entire _world_... "

My father's words… _honestly _really touched me. Did I _feel _ready? Well, _no_, but…

I saw the tired cub yawn, which in turn makes an adorable squeaking sound.

"Aww." I whisper so only I can hear it.

'_Good God, man… You're such a softy, aren't you!?' _I internally monologued.

Taking a breath, I look up at my father, Mufasa, before confidently replying,

"I... will adopt her."

The entire pride let out cheers of congratulations and, not to mention, kept _bombarding_ me with questions!

My Dad then roared, silencing the pride.

"One question at a time." Dad stated.

"What will you name her?" Sarafina asked me first after the sympathy of voices had stopped.

I thought real hard about any Swahili names I might have picked up back in school or something…

I mean, it was only fitting to give her an African name, right? The strangest thing you could do was give her a name that sounded very… _Western_.

But then again, how the hell Joe got _his_ name in the heart of Africa, was a mystery to me.

"Uh, well…" I stutter, trying to come up with a final name that sounded nice.

It wasn't a moment later that something lit up in my mind! I smiled in realization of this.

I _had_ her name!

"Oh, I know!" I exclaim, the pride setting their full attention on me. "Her name shall be…"

I looked down at the cub.

"_Adia_…" I revealed, full of pride.

* * *

**A/N: End of chapter! Well, well. Stuff has certainly happened this time around, wouldn't you say? And very interesting events at that! Where will it all lead? Stay tuned… As always, feel free to review, and I'll see ya next time! **


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